July 2020 - IAFR Jonathan House

Shoutout to our featured staff, SJ Holsteen! SJ is our ministry leader here at Jonathan House.

I’m the IAFR Minneapolis-St. Paul Ministry Leader, which means that I’m responsible for guiding and implementing IAFR’s ministry in Minneapolis-St. Paul (including Jonathan House) through strategic planning, partnership, communication, and program and staff development. I also live at Jonathan House Frogtown, our site for women and children, so I’m blessed to share daily life with asylum-seeking individuals who have welcomed me with grace and kindness.

How did you first learn about the plight of asylum-seeking individuals in America?

In 2003, when I was a sophomore in college, I volunteered at a walk-in clinic for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF-AZG) in Antwerp, Belgium. The clinic mainly served migrant populations, many who were in the process of seeking asylum. I learned about what made someone an asylum seeker as well as the many systemic barriers that they face during that process. That experience was very impactful for me, but I didn’t really think about asylum seekers’ experience in the US for many years.

Then, in 2016, I met Sarah Miller, IAFR’s US Regional Director, who was in the initial stages of launching an asylum-seeker housing ministry in the Twin Cities. My experience from Belgium came flooding back to me, and I suddenly wanted to learn everything I could about what the asylum process was like in the US. I learned a lot through my time with Sarah and IAFR, as well as through personal research and attending gatherings of individuals across the US and Canada who were supporting and walking alongside refugees, such as the Refugee Highway Partnership – North America.

How did you first get involved in Jonathan House?

It really started by meeting with Sarah Miller. When she first shared the vision of establishing safe, stable shelter for asylum seekers in the Twin Cities metro area, I had an immediate sense of affirmation in my spirit that it was something Christ was inviting me into, a path down which He was calling me to follow Him. I was living and working in western Wisconsin at the time, so initially I volunteered as I could in my free time – helping write fundraising campaigns and grants. By God’s grace, the funding came in to launch the first house, and at that point, Sarah invited me to be a volunteer member of the IAFR MSP team, helping welcome the first Jonathan House residents and be part of program development. In 2018, I decided to officially join IAFR as a full-time staff.

What’s something that everyone can do to help the cause of asylum-seeking individuals in the US?

When I first started engaging with Jonathan House, it struck me how little I actually knew about the asylum process in the US. So, I think reading articles, watching movies, or listening to stories about or by individuals who have sought asylum is a good way to give yourself a base knowledge about the many challenges of the asylum journey. I think learning about that journey opens people’s eyes to the injustice and dehumanization of a reality they might not even have been aware existed. When I visit churches to share about Jonathan House, I’m always encouraged how willing and open people are to learn and how ready they are to respond as they’re able with the radical love and welcome we know in Jesus Christ.

Another thing that US citizens can do is keep informed on national policies or laws that impact our asylum-seeking brothers and sisters. Asylum seekers are in a vulnerable position where they do not have access to democratic processes in a country that is making serious decisions that impact their futures. As an enfranchised citizen, you are able to use your voice to advocate for justice for asylum seekers to our government and your elected representatives.

Is there a statistic or fact that has surprised you concerning asylum seeking individuals?

In 2018, the United States received 254,300 new asylum claims, making us the leading recipient of new asylum claims in the world. (UNHCR Global Trends 2018). In the same year, 22,491 refugees came to the US through the federal refugee resettlement program (Migration Policy Institute). Asylum seekers are sometimes referred to as the “hidden refugee population,” and I think this statistic demonstrates that well… most people think of refugees as those who come to the US through resettlement, but each year a far greater number of forcibly-displaced individuals arrive in the US as asylum seekers and do not have access to the system of welcome and support that resettled refugees receive.

What is something asylum-seeking individuals have taught us?

One of my housemates told me once, “If there is life, there is hope.” That was very impactful for me. Because sometimes the past has left us with wounds, sometimes present life feels unbearable, and it can be hard to imagine that things will ever get better or that it is worth moving on. But my sister’s statement encouraged me and reminded me that God does not intend destruction or despair for us; He intends life and hope for us. My asylum-seeking friends have reminded me of this reality again and again, through their stories, their faith, their courage, and their love.

What languages do you speak?

English, French, and Spanish.

Any other line of work you’re in?

Nope.

Hobbies?

I like walking in the woods, reading, and visiting art museums.

Favorite sport?

Does eating donuts count as a sport?

In the Jonathan House kitchen, *A.A. enjoys cooking meals that she* learned as a child.
*© Joanna Schaus Photography www.joanna-schaus.com*

A.A. learned to clean the house at the age of five. At age six, her mother taught her to cook bidena (a type of bread) and sauce. “In our country a girl gets married at an early age,” she explains, “so we learn housekeeping as children.”

“I wouldn’t go out and play. I preferred to be in the house cooking.” A.A. smiles at the memory. “My mother and neighbors blessed me when they saw that I worked like that.”

A.A. remembers with particular fondness cooking a special meal for Eid, the day after Arafah, a Muslim celebration to commemorate the Hajj. “It was like a test,” she says, “You had to cook bidena, chicken, sauce, and kineto.” She worked beside her mother to produce a feast that sustained more than her family. “Our neighbors were invited,” she shares, “and the poor would be fed.”

As A.A.’s story reflects, food is more than a basic human need; it expresses culture, community, history, and personality. For someone who is seeking asylum, having consistent access to nutritious and culturally-appropriate food is an important step in recovering both physical and mental health in the midst of forced displacement.

*A.A. waters the vegetable garden at IAFR Jonathan House, where she’s growing food plants familiar to her from her home country. © Joanna Schaus Photography www.joanna-schaus.com*

However, many asylum seekers in the US find themselves in a situation where basic survival, including food security, is at risk. Without access to government assistance and barred from legal employment for an extended period of time, asylum-seeking individuals must rely on others to meet their basic needs. This can result in inadequate or inconsistent access to nutritious food, culturally-inappropriate food, or disempowering dynamics between the individual and those she must rely on for assistance. This was the case for A.A.:

“Before I came to Jonathan House, I was living with another family from my ethnic community. They gave me food, but it wasn’t always well prepared, and they would give me a begrudging look when they gave it to me. My social worker offered me food from their center’s pantry, but when I took it home, my hosts told me, ‘We don’t need outside food’ and put it in the trash. After that, I would keep food in my purse and eat it at night after other people had gone to bed.”

The dependency and isolation of her situation became a psychological burden to A.A. “They would tell me, ‘You need to leave our house,’ and I would just cry, because I didn’t have anywhere to go. What life was like before I came to Jonathan House, I felt like it wasn’t much different than what I suffered in my home country. It even got to the point where I wanted to put myself in front of a car.”

Thankfully, A.A. shared her struggles with a friend, and he counseled her to stay hopeful. Soon after, her social worker told her about a new house opening for asylum-seeking women. “She told me, ‘Wait, because maybe they will have a place for you.’” A.A. became the first resident at Jonathan House’s site for women and children after its launch in March 2019.

Until they receive authorization to work in the US, Jonathan House residents like A.A. receive monthly grocery assistance that allows them to purchase fresh, culturally-appropriate food that they enjoy. © Joanna Schaus Photography www.joanna-schaus.com

The day after her arrival, church partners helped welcome her with groceries and a special griddle for cooking bidena, the bread her mother taught her to make as a child. “I cooked and enjoyed my meal in freedom,” she says.

Monthly food assistance provided through the generosity of partners like you now allows A.A. to purchase her own food at a neighborhood ethnic market owned by her friend. “I’m able to go to the store and buy everything that I need. At Jonathan House, I’m able to live, eat, sleep, and go in and out in peace.” A.A. has also put a lot of care into tending a small garden at Jonathan House, where she’s planted peppers and tea plants she knows from her home country.

*© Joanna Schaus Photography www.joanna-schaus.com*

When asked what she desires for the future, A.A. expresses a hope to be granted asylum and work authorization soon. “Being reunited with my kids must also be part of my journey,” she adds firmly. ”I eat good food now, I sleep good sleep, but my kids are scattered all over the place.” Her children, still in a place of active conflict, face their own serious problems of food insecurity.

As she waits for this longed-for reunification with her children, she continues to bless, love, and welcome others at Jonathan House with her gardening, her cooking, and her friendship. “I don’t have any relatives nearby except God and Jonathan House,” A.A. says, “I am a woman who didn’t have a home or relatives. You made that woman settled, made her safe.”

Thank you for helping our asylum-seeking neighbors access healthy, culturally-appropriate food as they recover from forced displacement. Your support of Jonathan House residents has a life-changing impact.

Month: July 2020

Shoutout to our featured staff, SJ Holsteen!

“I enjoyed my meal in freedom”: Food security for asylum seekers in the USA