On Wednesday, November 26, 2014 CMS held the Queens Tenant Monthly Meeting at St. Sebastian Parish Center in Woodside. We invited several organizations including Catholic Charities, JASA, and the Queens Library to provide attendees with information on their services. (more…)
On November 12th CMS staff Marisol Canales and Rebecca Rybaltowski attended The Annual Immigration Town Hall Meeting hosted by Councilman Rafael Espinal of District 37 in collaboration with Catholic Charities. This meeting served to discuss various issues affecting the immigrant community. There were presentations on citizenship from CUNY Citizenship Now, from the Department of Consumer Affairs on the New Paid Sick Leave Law, and a discussion from the 83 Precinct police station in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Ms. Canales served as a member of the panel and discussed the resources CMS provides and common issues that the people we serve face.
CMS is currently conducting outreach for our legal services programs in parishes throughout Brooklyn and Queens. Thus far we have distributed important information and provided consultations to hundreds of parishioners at St. Margaret Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Catherine of Alexandria, Sts. Joachim and Anne, St. Joan of Arc, St. Agatha, St. Teresa, Our Lady of Sorrows, St. Leo, Corpus Christi, Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Our Lady of Fatima, St. Helen, St. Sebastian, St. Matthias, Our Lady of the Angelus, St. Rita, and St. Patrick.
We have staff on site ready to assist parishioners and provide information about our housing, immigration, and labor programs. CMS is working to increase accessibility by offering critical legal services to people who may otherwise not have the ability to come into our office during business hours. We will continue to conduct outreach in parishes across Brooklyn and Queens every Sunday through November.
For a full schedule of the churches we will be visiting this fall, please take a look at our Events Calendar!
On September 18, friends and supporters of Catholic Migration Services gathered at the offices of Time Warner, Inc. at Columbus Circle to enjoy beautiful views of Central Park and celebrate CMS’ legal services programs. For the fifth consecutive year, Time Warner, Inc. generously sponsored CMS’ Fall Benefit, which is an important source of financial support for the organization.
Attendees were welcomed by Time Warner, Inc. attorney Kwanza Butler who expressed Time Warner’s commitment to pro bono work and civic engagement including its relationship with CMS. CMS is thankful for its partnership with Time Warner, Inc. and for the support of all those who contributed to make the Fall Benefit event a success.
CMS staff Xiomara Bustamante (on the right) works with parishioner at St. Catherine of Alexandria.
On Sunday, September 14th CMS staff conducted outreach at two different parishes in Queens and Brooklyn. Staff Alexina Delvecchio, Rebecca Rybaltowski, and Xiomara Bustamante attended service at St. Catherine of Alexandria in Brooklyn and after Mass answered questions and conducted consultations for over 20 parishioners. At Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Astoria CMS staff Jennifer Park, Nancy Pardo, and Chris Holtz attended both English and Spanish Mass and were able to provide legal services to over 25 parishioners. CMS will be attending weekly Masses across Queens and Brooklyn this fall to provide immigration, labor, and tenant rights information and consultations.
CMS Outreach Assistant Rebecca Rybaltowski at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish
On September 7th CMS Outreach Assistant Rebecca Rybaltowski attended the Fidelis Community Resource Fair at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Corona. This successful event helped CMS reach out to many people who were interested in immigration matters and learn about the services that CMS provides. Several organizations that partner with CMS, including Faith in NY, NICE, Catholic Charities, New York Family Justice Center, Fidelis, Grameen VidaSana, and Queens Immigrants United were at the event and reached out to over 2,000 parishioners who attended the fair. This fair hosted by Fidelis Health Care helped to increase the scope of knowledge and access to valuable resources and services available to community members.
