January Newsletter Highlights & Community Meeting • 5,000 Books! • Host Homes! • Ahmed’s Journey

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Image of Community Meeting flyer for January 15, 2025 from 11:30-1:00 at Peace Lutheran ChurchHappy New Year! Here are some highlights from our January newsletter to start 2025 on a hopeful, positive note. First, please join us this Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025 for our next Community Meeting from 11:30-1:00 at Peace Lutheran Church, 2106 Cushman Ave. The meeting features Aimee Khuu, Executive Director of Tacoma Community House on the topic of “Preparing to Meet the Challenges Ahead.”

Good News! Plans to expand the Host Home Program – Can you host?

With the AIDNW Hospitality House on hiatus as we look for a new location and funding sources, we are discussing a deeper partnership with World Relief to join their Host Home program, by adding new host homes through our AIDNW network of volunteers. The goal is for AIDNW and World Relief Western WA to have host homes available every day of the week, whenever Welcome Center guests need temporary shelter. For years, we have relied on World Relief Host Homes on Thursdays and Fridays. Overnight housing is most often needed when Welcome Center guests can’t book a same-day flight. Having a welcoming place to stay for one or two nights is such a gift, especially as the alternative has been taking people to a shelter.

There are also rare times when a Welcome Center guest released from detention has nowhere to go, and a medium-term host home is needed until long-term housing can be arranged.

If you have a spare bedroom and are willing to attend a World Relief training session to become a Host Home, no matter what days of the week, or how many days in a row you think you could host someone, please email AIDNW Operations Manager Aidan Perkinson as well as World Relief’s Post-Release Detention Coordinator Claudia Krakini to be put on a notification list for the next training opportunity.

If you have specific questions about the program, just visit the World Relief Western Washington volunteer page, scroll down to Host Homes and click “Learn More” to get a sense of how it will work. If you have some experience and would like to go an extra mile, let Aidan and Claudia know that you would be willing to get in on the ground floor to help with this new endeavor.

Housing for our guests — we can make it happen!
Image of immigrant at Mt. Rainier pointing at map

Over 5,000 books
(775 in languages other than English)
and 700 puzzles delivered to detainees in 2024

Books and puzzles are extremely important for immigrant detainees, to pass the time and ease the stress of living in detention.  With limited computer access and no or few visitors, immigrants rely on books to improve their English, and to study for job exams in hopes of preparing for a new life in the U.S. One released detainee, who taught herself to read and write in English, described the books as vital to keep up morale and hope.

In 2024, AIDNW’s dedicated book and puzzle volunteers shepherded the donation of 5,650 paperback books–more than double the previous year! There was a huge increase in the number of foreign language books, including Spanish, Chinese, French, Vietnamese, Russian, Persian, Arabic and even Kazakh. The titles of all the foreign language books are translated to avoid donating content that ICE prohibits, and then labeled  by language, so they are easy to locate on shelves.

Detainees are particularly glad to have puzzles, and 715 were donated this year. They are in near constant use, so the supply needs to be refreshed on an ongoing basis as the puzzle pieces wear out or get lost. AIDNW volunteers also delivered 185 new composition and activity books, 45 new decks of playing cards, and 90 sets of colored pencils. Unfortunately, it’s no longer possible to donate yarn.

This year’s book donation effort was given a huge boost by two new partners, the Tacoma Public Library and The Book Mongers (a used bookseller in Tukwila). The Tacoma Library is donating 1,200 books annually, and The Book Mongers generously donated around 2,000 paperbacks and 300 puzzles.

A good number of books came from area schools and universities, and community and religious groups. Before volunteers reached out to them, most did not know there was an ICE facility in the area, and many asked what more they could do to support AIDNW’s work, including making donations and volunteering.

For 2025, Book Program volunteers plan to continue to focus on foreign language titles and puzzles to meet demand. They need help securing foreign language titles. All languages are needed, but the current priority is for Arabic, Hindi, Punjabi, Russian, and Spanish books. You may bring paperbacks and puzzles to the Welcome Center RV, where they will be sorted by trained volunteers.  For more information please contact Nanette.

Many, many thanks to all the community members, volunteers, and organizations who have contributed to this important effort!
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