"We want our guests to feel like they are at an airport." Guests arrive at the Casa Alitas respite center in Tucson after having been processed by immigration. They spend a couple of days or weeks until they can go to their final destination, where their sponsors are located throughout the USA. When I think of an airport, I imagine a well-oiled machine of time-tables and schedules - and that is exactly what you find at Casa Alitas. Nearly every room has printed lists of schedules of when families are scheduled for their bus departure, transfers, if any, and where they're heading. Some rooms contain monitors that display and update, much like an airport. This information is vital for keeping everyone organized - the asylum seekers, the 1,000 volunteers per week, and the one paid staff person. Since the center has seen over 14,000 asylum seekers pass through its doors since October 2018, this is a big job! Due to the sheer volume of people that this location hosts, they are … [Read more...] about Up to Date

"His name is Fernando!" exclaims Gretchen, the Site Director at the Inn Project in Tucson, Arizona. "And the kids at the Inn Project absolutely adore him." Gretchen told me about how they had gotten fish for the kids to take care of while they're there, but they had died unexpectedly. The kids were devastated. When the center got a new fish, the kids were given the chance to name it. Suggestions were taken from each resident and then drawn out of a hat, so just like that the fish had a name - Fernando. The thought of these kids, who have little to nothing themselves, were so concerned for the well-being of a simple fish melted my heart. We wanted to make sure that Fernando can live a long and happy life and continue to give the kids something to care for during their stay at the Inn Project. The current tank had a broken filter and missing light, so we knew it was time to get him a new tank, fish food, and extra filters. Because the fish was outside of the center's … [Read more...] about Gone Fishing