** All photos and details used with the permission of the individual.
For A.G., IAFR Jonathan House has been more than a safe, stable place to stay while she rebuilds her life as an asylum seeker in the United States. It also provided a protective community when she became critically ill.
In February, A.G. started having sharp pains in her abdomen. One day she became very sick. Her housemate called their neighbor Lynn Thompson, a Jonathan House volunteer who the women know and trust.
Thompson took A.G. to a nearby Urgent Care, but when her symptoms became more serious, they decided to call an ambulance. An IAFR staff person met them in the hospital emergency room, to be present with A.G. while the doctors ran tests to identify the issue. “Everybody came together to save my life,” A.G. says.
Even beyond the physical cure, when facing illness in an unknown land far from family, community is healing. Asylum seekers often face social isolation and marginalization from basic need services like healthcare. Because of your support, Jonathan House residents like A.G. have access to community partners and resources that ensure they receive medical treatment and sustain good health.
IAFR staff and Thompson continued to visit A.G. during her hospitalization. A.G. asked staff to pray with her before she went in for procedures. She gets teary-eyed as she recalls it. “You were with me night and day,” she says. “You were such an encouragement to me; you helped me more than the doctor.”
A.G. gives thanks to God that she was able to receive the medical care she needed and return healthy to IAFR Jonathan House. She was recently granted asylum and is working toward finding independent housing. She hopes someday to be reunited with her family.
The current global pandemic clearly shows the tie between being able to “shelter in place” and safeguarding our health. But what if you have been forcibly displaced? What if you have no shelter? This is the reality for many asylum-seeking individuals in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The importance of housing and quick, easy access to healthcare becomes ever clearer, particularly for vulnerable populations such as asylum seekers.
Because of supporters like you, asylum-seeking individuals can have their healthcare needs met in safe, stable shelter with supportive community.
“Jonathan House helped me a lot with my health when I was sick. They help fulfill all my needs. Even when I move to my own home, I want to stay connected with Jonathan House.”
In the meantime, A.G.’s place is woven into the fabric of IAFR Jonathan House. She is quick to laugh with her housemates, helps care for her roommate’s infant, and enjoys crocheting in her downtime. She recently completed a large colorful blanket crocheted from various sources of yarn, including some knitted clothes she unraveled and repurposed.
She wraps herself in the blanket like a hug. “It’s my ‘record’ of Jonathan House,” she says. “It is really a Jonathan House memory for me.”