Newsletter: April 23, 2025
| Good morning 285 South readers, Hope you’re hanging in there. Last week, a Spanish speaking reader reached out to us asking for resources for domestic violence survivors in the Atlanta area. If you, or anyone you know, are also looking for those resources in Spanish, there’s Ser Familia (678-363-3073), the Cherokee Family Violence Center (770-479-1703), and Caminar Latino (404-413-6348). For organizations who have capacity to provide services in other languages there is Noor Family Services (770-589-7752) and Raksha (404-876-0670). We’re working on compiling a more extensive list so if you have any suggestions of organizations to add, please reach out. On the community calendar this week – the Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network is hosting its Taste of the World fundraising dinner on Friday, the Latino Family Festival kicks off at Stone Mountain on Saturday, and also that day, Refuge Coffee is having its annual Spring Market in Clarkston. Okay, let’s get started. Here’s what 285 South has been covering: Number of families and friends visiting loved ones detained at Stewart has doubled, says nonprofit The nonprofit El Refugio—which offers support to people visiting loved ones at a federal immigrant detention facility in Lumpkin, about two hours from Atlanta—has seen a significant increase in people stopping by its “hospitality house” since the beginning of the year. The numbers of those visiting friends and relatives at Stewart Detention Center have grown from “about 16 people per weekend before January 20”—the date of President Donald Trump’s inauguration—“to 40 people needing a place to rest, joining us for meals and spending the night at El Refugio,” says Amilcar Valencia, the organization’s executive director. “We have hosted more than 420 people at our hospitality house—this is more than half of all the guests we hosted last year.” As demand for the hospitality house has increased, so have the nonprofit’s needs; El Refugio is seeking donations, which will go toward gas cards for families to offset the cost of driving hundreds of miles. El Refugio is also looking for volunteers. For more information, fill out the inquiry form here. Observing Good Friday on the top of Stone Mountain  On Good Friday, hundreds of people—ranging from toddlers in the arms of their parents to 80- and 90-year-olds—walked the rocky and sometimes steep path to the top of Stone Mountain, in an observance of Jesus’s crucifixion. With the annual Way of the Cross event now in its 24th year, organizers worried that attendance might be low due to fears among Hispanic communities of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions—people from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America make up most of the attendees. But turnout was better than expected. “It is impressive to see how the Hispanic people respond to the call of faith,” Constanza A. Vasquez, a parishioner at La Misión Católica Nuestra Señora de las Americas in Lilburn, told 285 South in Spanish. This year’s Way of the Cross happened just days before the death of Pope Francis, who passed on Easter Monday at the age of 88. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Francis ascended to the papacy in 2013, becoming the first non-European pope in more than 1,300 years—and the first Latin American pontiff ever. Read the full story here. With the gutting of AmeriCorps, local Vietnamese nonprofit with Americorps-funded staff is unsure of its future.  The Atlanta chapter of Boat People SOS (BPSOS), a nonprofit that serves low-income, mostly Vietnamese families in the Atlanta area, has three staff members who are funded by AmeriCorps, a federally funded community service program. But since AmeriCorps had its funding slashed as part of the Trump administration’s gutting of federal programs, nobody at BPSOS has been able to reach anyone at the agency to find out whether they’re affected—or not. “Not knowing is scary,” said Huy VU, standing in the office’s communal kitchen after he had made a cup of coffee. “We don’t know how it’s going to impact us yet. Are we going to be able to finish this month?” Stay tuned for the story later this week. One year since the Emory encampment  On Tuesday, about two dozen people gathered on the Emory quad to mark a year since students set up an encampment at the university in solidarity with Gaza—an event that drew a violent police response and subsequent criticism of Emory’s handling of the situation. In the year since, Emory suspended a Palestinian American medical student who participated in pro-Palestine protests, and the federal government has revoked the visas of three Emory alumni and one current student, part of a nationwide crackdown on international students. Events are planned throughout the week to mark the one year anniversary. Stories we’re following: Georgia native and U.S. citizen was held at a Florida jail. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Fed up with the uncertainty of the Trump administration, some Atlanta residents are self-deporting back to their home countries. (Atlanta Journal Constitution) Sen. Jason Esteves announces run for Georgia governor. (Axios Atlanta) Federal judge sides with international students who filed a lawsuit challenging visa revocations. (AJC) South Korean painter’s work at the High Museum. (Georgia Asian Times) Pope Francis, who spoke in support of migrants and refugees during his papacy, died on Monday. (New York Times) Immigration detention centers across the country are overwhelmed. “You’re stripped from your humanity,” said América Platt, an immigrant detained in Texas. (Washington Post) That’s all for now. To thank you for reading, here are some vegetables, grown by local immigrant and refugee farmers, that were on display at the Global Growers Network’s fundraising dinner on Saturday: bottle gourd, Thai eggplant, and bitter melon (a vegetable eaten in many Asian countries – known for its medicinal qualities!).  We’ll see you here next week. – The 285 South Team – |
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