A QUARTERLY UPDATE FROM THE NORTHEAST KINGDOM ASYLUM SEEKERS ASSISTANCE NETWORK
In this issue:
- Thank you!
- Guest updates
- Treasurer’s Report
- President’s Letter
- Book Group
- Join our Board
Thank you!
It’s been a while since we last issued a newsletter to let you know what NEKASAN is up to. Thank you all for staying involved and interested in our efforts to empower asylum seekers and refugees by providing essential services, access to legal advocacy, and community support. With your help, we are guiding 5 families to build safe, dignified, and hopeful lives in their new communities.
The past couple of years have seen NEKASAN’s work grow in complexity as we stretch to keep up with the changing immigration landscape and the challenges of governing a non-profit in the current climate.
Our occasional newsletters dropped off as NEKASAN’s volunteer board focused more on getting things done than on keeping our constituents in the loop. We are working to get back on track and stay in touch through these quarterly newsletters. Please let us know what you think and what you’d like to read about in future editions.
Thank you for sticking with us and staying tuned!
— The NEKASAN Board
Guest Updates
Two of our adult guests passed their VT Driver’s License tests this spring, one of them a brand new driver! Another guest has enrolled in a course at Northern VT University to enhance her professional skills as a dental assistant. All of our adult guests currently have drivers’ licenses, work permits, and jobs, as well as access to cars for transportation to and from work or school.
This is important, as the asylum process is in flux right now and these new Vermonters may wait up to 5 years before their case is decided. In that time, they are working towards self-sufficiency and making a home in the Northeast Kingdom. Some of them have their families here; others are helping support family members in their country of origin or hoping eventually to bring them to the U.S.
Treasurer’s Report
Thanks to the generosity of donors and state and private grants, NEKASAN has been able to cover the needs of our Guests each of the past three years, including: rent assistance, stipends for food and personal needs, transportation, legal expenses, and help with medical and education costs.
Our costs have risen from under $50,000 in 2023 to over $110,000 projected for 2026. We have seen increases in immigration fees and an increased need for legal support related to an extended and sometimes unpredictable asylum process. Our guests need transportation to find and get to work in our corner of Vermont, and are paying rising prices for everything from food to fuel to rent to renewal fees for work permits and asylum applications.
Over the past 3 years we have been very fortunate to receive donations ranging from $5 to $25,000. Many are one-time donations from individuals or donor advised funds. Others are grants or gifts from foundations. And we are lucky to have a few monthly donors whose recurring contributions we can count on as we create and update our budget to meet changing needs.
Right now our predictable monthly expenses are around $7,000; some months have exceeded $15,000, with legal fees, car repairs, and medical expenses the leading unforeseeable factors.
Our current recurring monthly donations total just over $1,200.
We would love to see that number grow to $5,000 a month or more.
Your commitment to automatic monthly contributions will give us confidence that we have the community support we need to meet our budget as well as to cover unpredictable expenses in these uncertain times. Recurring gifts also allow us to focus more of our limited human and financial resources on our mission to help asylum seekers and less on fundraising.
Will you become a NEKASAN subscriber by making a recurring donation here?
Whatever you give, however you give, NEKASAN appreciates your participation and support.
— Anny Ewing, Treasurer
President’s Letter
A personal note from the retiring president of NEKASAN:
As a founding member of NEKASAN and board member for the past 6 years, it is time to step aside and hand over the role and responsibility of board President.
I have to say that the word President implies a lot of responsibility, decision making, and problem solving with this phenomenal organization. The truth of being the leading board member is more about being a team partner with a selection of hugely motivated, open minded, and talented board members. There is nothing a president can do without the inspiration and energy of such board members and volunteers.
NEKASAN is moving into an important phase of strengthening our community connections, developing our operating structure, and broadening our outreach.
Most importantly, we are continuing the extraordinary efforts to advocate for and support asylum seekers in all aspects and needs for a safe and welcoming community. We will remain true to our goals and purpose. We will continue to learn the valuable lessons our guests teach us. This is who we have been and will continue to be.
These are important words and aspirations for any organization. NEKASAN will name a new President in July who will carry us forward and I am so very proud to have been a part of this endeavor thus far.
With gratitude,
— Libby Hillhouse, President
Trauma Stewardship Book Group Meets:
Eight people from among the board, our membership, and our volunteers have gathered for a monthly discussion of the book Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others by Laura Lipsky and Connie Burk.
The book focuses on how people who spend time assisting survivors of trauma can develop symptoms similar or identical to those they care for. The authors name 16 warning signs of trauma exposure response, all of which indicate significant stress in caregivers and make it very difficult for caregivers to connect whole-heartedly with those they care for.
Everyone in the group was able to name ways in which they experienced some of the warning signs both in themselves and in our guests. Everyone, however, voiced their admiration for the resilience of our guests. We all doubted that we could function as well as our guests do if we had endured what they have endured.
The authors stressed the importance of being whole-heartedly present to trauma survivors. In order to take good care of others we need to be taking good care of ourselves. We need to be able to feel their pain when we are with them but not carry it home with us.
The authors recommend mindfulness meditation as a way to deepen our ability to be fully present to the pain of others without losing our balance, without developing the warning signs of trauma exposure response. We are all feeling inspired to take shorter or longer pauses, to stop doing mentally and physically and just be, to quiet both our minds and our bodies. We are helping each other value all the ways in which we do take care of ourselves so we can open ourselves to whatever our guests choose to share with us.
—Jeffrey Kay, Secretary
Join our Board!
The Northeast Kingdom Asylum Seekers Assistance Network (NEKASAN) is seeking community members to serve on our Board of Directors, including a volunteer Board President.
Since 2020, NEKASAN has helped asylum seekers and refugees build safe, stable and fulfilling lives by helping them negotiate access to housing, transportation, education, legal representation, healthcare, and employment.
We are looking for individuals who believe our communities grow stronger when we welcome and support people from diverse cultures.
We are seeking to build a diverse board of people with a wide range of backgrounds, skills, and lived experiences. Experience in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, finance, nonprofit law, communications, healthcare, or business, is valuable but not necessary. There are many other ways to make a difference.
Serving on the board is meaningful work. Board members help guide the mission of NEKASAN, providing strategic direction and ensuring financial stability and legal compliance. Interested Board members may also engage in the lives of the individuals and families we support by being on a guest team.
If you are looking for a meaningful way to directly support the lives of asylum seekers and refugees in the Northeast Kingdom, we hope to hear from you.
To learn more about serving on the Board, contact: nekasanvt@gmail.com.
Learn more about our work at: nekasan.org
Thank you from everyone at NEKASAN!
