Service, Empowerment, and Positive Social Change
As the only organization in our region with its primary focus on serving immigrants, Compañeros offers unique and crucial services to our community.
Bilingual AssistanceMany of our clients do not have a fluency in English, an understanding of how American government systems (immigration, justice, or social) function, or a trust in the aforementioned systems. The bilingual assistance we provide is incredibly diverse and extends beyond any single category, and on any given day we might help a client with resolving a tax issue, applying for an immigrant driver’s license, service navigation, and more. We also provide information to non-immigrant individuals and agencies such as employers, educators, and health providers. This year, we helped our clients find, understand, navigate, and access crucial services to maintain their physical, mental, and economic well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Education OutreachWe provide educational workshops and events in order to empower our clients with the knowledge they need to be successful. There are many unique challenges facing immigrant families, and no other agency in our area focuses on distributing the information necessary to properly address them. Recently we have been holding workshops on immigrant driver’s licenses, constitutional rights, and the 2020 U.S. Census. We also hold events for the greater non-immigrant community in order to foster understanding and awareness of immigrant issues as well as a culture of inclusivity. During the pandemic, we have worked with local and governmental organizations to ensure our clients are aware of any and all services and resources such as food boxes, health information, and vaccines.
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Community OrganizingIn order to foster resilience and build strength in our immigrant community, we hold culturally affirming events and workshops to give our clients a safe place to come together and build unity. Due to COVID-19, our ability to hold events was limited, but we did succeed in piloting an after school program for immigrant children to support them as learning went online in collaboration with several local groups and organizations. We also worked to develop leaders in the immigrant community to help distribute food boxes to families in need and spread information during the pandemic.
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