In his regular column in the Baltimore Sun, Don Rodricks writes that immigrant children from Central America, who have come to the Esperanza Center in Baltimore, have a dire need for school supplies, including notebooks.
English class at Esperanza
He says he talked with Jermin Laviera, an energetic woman with a bright and generous smile, who works on the first floor of the facility. The Esperanza Center provides services to immigrants, such as English classes, and has long been run by Catholic Charities. She told him about how she started noticing an increase in immigrants from Central America about 18 months ago. Recent news coverage and opinion pieces, however, have spiked the talk about the immigration crisis we now face with xenophobic vitriol.
But the fact remains that children in the US, while they await their immigration hearings or whatever processing they will face as Congress tries to rewrite laws or the president takes executive action, need to go to school. Montgomery County Schools hosted 107 unaccompanied children from Central America last year. Officials couldn’t say how many from the current immigration surge from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala are expected this year, WTOP reported.
“These kids are going to have a lot of services that they need,” the station quoted Montgomery County schools spokesperson Dana Tofig as saying. Those services are expected to include social and emotional counseling for kids who may have suffered abuse or been targets of human trafficking.
Ms Laviera told the Sun a few horrific stories. One girl, at 17, had only received two years of schooling because her parents were afraid to let her leave the house. Boys, she said, were shot on their way to church.
The Esperanza Center is also seeking lawyers who could represent children and other immigrants pro bono, as the current wave has maxed out their legal resources. The kids also need psychological counseling, as services normally provided by Johns Hopkins and Kennedy Krieger are also filled.
I would advise calling to check current needs before sending any donations. The number is (410) 522-2668. The address is
Esperanza Center
430 South Broadway
Baltimore, MD 21231
Some people have objected to spending state and county resources on children who may eventually be deported, WTOP noted. A Washington Times article said 2,025 unaccompanied children had been placed with sponsors in Maryland, and Montgomery County officials were already starting to feel the impact.