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Joseph, an immigrant from Sierra Leone, became homeless after losing his job. While out of work he was assaulted and robbed of everything, including his immigration documentation. By God’s grace, Joseph was called back to his old job but was faced with circumstances he needed help to overcome.
Joseph had also been enrolled in school but had dropped out due to his drug addiction. He came to Booth Haven with three goals: he wanted to get into treatment, he wanted to go to a halfway house and he wanted to get another green card. He began substance abuse treatment as well as therapy sessions. Joseph attended his group sessions and individual therapy dutifully and actively pursued halfway house placement.
The one stumbling block for Joseph was how to obtain his immigration documentation again. His case manager, Gwen Randall, was able to contact a Catholic Family Center staff member who provided the name and phone number of a lawyer specializing in immigration that might be able to assist Joseph. She also went online to find the documents that Joseph would need to complete in order to obtain the immigration documentation he needed. The lawyer assisted Joseph with the completion of the forms, one of which was a request for a waiver of the fees associated with obtaining a green card. All forms were mailed and several weeks later Joseph received notification that the fee waiver had been approved and Joseph was given an appointment to meet with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration official. However, the nearest immigration office is in Buffalo. So the next issue was to get Joseph to Buffalo for his appointment.
Ms. Randall was able to obtain the necessary funds from The Salvation Army’s Emergency Family Services for Joseph to travel by bus to Buffalo for his meeting with US Immigration. Joseph returned with his temporary green card and was informed that he had been accepted into Pathways Behavioral Services’ Substance Abuse Treatment Program.
Joseph was discharged from Booth Haven and Ms. Randall assisted Joseph with his move by taking him to his new home. He recently contacted Ms. Randall to let her know he had completed his stay in the halfway house and was in the process of applying to the Solutions to Ending Homelessness Program (STEPH) for assistance with a rent deposit on his own apartment.
We are blessed that our Salvation Army caseworkers across upstate New York work tirelessly to create solutions that help clients not just end their homelessness but address the underlying issues that can keep a client from reaching his or her goals.
Your generous donations are instrumental in helping The Salvation Army break the cycle of poverty that plague people like Joseph. Together, we are
Tags: Faces of The Army