Week 1

I’m staying in Casa Papá Francisco, one of a number of hospitality houses run by Annunciation House. This house was opened in November and right now we are offering hospitality to widows whose spouses worked in the US and paid into Social Security and who are required by law to live in the US for 30 consecutive days every 6 months in order to get the money. We also get the unaccompanied minors who have been held in ICE detention and who turn 18. Instead of being transferred to an adult facility they are released to join their family or friends and continue their immigration process there (wherever that is). So we get to celebrate quite a few birthdays. We also have a number of single mothers with children. If they are going to stay with us for some time, we register the children in school. So it is a mix of ages and nationalities and duration of their stays with us. 

It feels very different from what I was doing last year in helping to move people on as quickly as possible. Here there is time for conversation and connection. The days are still busy as living in community usually is with meals and departures and arrivals and cleaning. 

We went for a walk and found a small ‘green’ space where we had an impromptu dance party near some interesting statues. 

This prompted a dance party on Friday night in our cafeteria. Hard to keep up with Latin dancers!! But it was so much fun. 

The week also started with a massive sinus infection that I’m still getting over. Doing much better but the cough and nose blowing have yet to cease. 

Saturday was my day off (we work 6 days a week either am or pm shift). I took two other volunteers hiking in Franklin Mountains State Park, got tea with one of the volunteers I knew from last year who is at a different house of hospitality, enjoyed Pho 24 for dinner and then a beer at Mountain Star Brewery. It was a wonderful day.