SafeHarbors

Our Vision:      That all migrants seeking refuge and asylum in the US, but lacking family sponsors, receive respectful and migrant-centered support from communities of faith.

Our Mission: To provide a ministry of welcome, accompaniment and support to a family/families seeking refuge in the US through the legal process of asylum and referred to us through AMMPARO[1] ELCA[2] and its partners.

Objectives/Goals:

+ live into biblical mandates to love our neighbors as expressed in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures (i.e. Leviticus 19:33 “When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien.  The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God”, and Mt.25:35 “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”)

+ minimize the time a family spends in detention or on the streets without support structures

+ help a family survive, heal, thrive, until their day in Immigration Court and through their asylum-seeking journey

[1]AMMPARO stands for Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection Advocacy Representation and Opportunity. It is a national project of the ELCA supporting immigrants and refugees. St. Peter’s congregation became part of this effort in 2020, and encourages congregations to sponsor and support migrant families seeking asylum.

Safe Harbors: our Ministry of Welcome, began fundraising and planning in Spring of 2021, and this organization has sponsored and supported a migrant family since November 2021, when they arrived in Del Rio, Texas after a three-month journey. We have trained more than 20 volunteers from St. Peter’s and other nearby faith communities to provide accompaniment, advocacy, transportation, ESL tutoring and service coordination and support. Generous donations allowed us to fund housing and all living and legal expenses for the family through Spring 2023 when they finally received work authorization. They now have begun a planned transition to a more affordable SE Massachusetts community, and our physical support is now remote. Financial support will lessen over the next six months as they become self-sufficient.

The Safe Harbors Ministry team is now entering a period of evaluation, prayer, and discernment to review and renew our Mission Statement in a climate of constantly changing migration challenges and policies at the border and within government, in our State’s family shelter system on the Cape, and throughout the Commonwealth. Stay tuned for updates in March 2024.