Holy Cross Ministries (HCM) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing health, education and justice services to families in Utah regardless of race, religion, income or any other defining characteristic. We hope you enjoy the following updates and stories about our work this summer.
For more news, program information and summer updates, check out our website and follow us on social media!
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Health Programming Spotlight |
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*Marisol was trapped in an unhealthy relationship that was harming her and her children. Her partner would follow her wherever she went and forced her to accompany him to work. Marisol, who had a three-month-old child with him as well as two other children from a previous relationship, desperately wanted to flee the physical and emotional abuse she was subjected to but had nowhere to go. Marisol's mental and physical health was deteriorating, and her mother kept telling her to leave the toxic relationship she was in and go stay with her and seek help. Marisol considered staying with her mother, but she was concerned about her mother's safety.
Marisol sought assistance from HCM's Community Health Worker and Victim Advocate, Jakelinne "Jackie" Capella-Aponte. Jackie advised Marisol to go to the police station and file a domestic violence report as soon as possible. Jackie then helped Marisol get in touch with a women's shelter where she and her children could stay. Marisol felt safe and calm at the shelter, where she received help filing a restraining order against her partner. Jackie helped Marisol find resources to help her start a new life, such as looking for an apartment and applying for new jobs as well as assisting her in applying for custody of her youngest child.
Marisol is now doing well, and she is grateful for her mother's and Jackie's assistance in helping her leave a toxic relationship. Marisol received government assistance to help pay for her children's daycare and was approved for a low-income apartment, where she now lives with her children. She stated that her children's behavior has improved and that they are happier than before.
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Justice Programming Spotlight |
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Building Capacity to Provide Legal Services to Displaced Persons |
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HCM has a long history of assisting displaced individuals and families in Utah. The Legal Immigration Program began offering immigration services to help refugees and asylees move toward independence and full participation in the community in 2000.
Although demand for humanitarian legal services has fluctuated over the last 22 years, current world events demand greater capacity to work with the hundreds of thousands of individuals traveling to, or already living in America, to start a new life.
We are experiencing unprecedented mass movements of people fleeing their home countries due to war, violence, unemployment, environmental disasters, and cultural and religious persecution. Lorina Tester, HCM’s immigration program director, notes “Hundreds of refugees from Afghanistan are coming to Utah through formal refugee resettlement programs and requests for asylum are increasing from Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion.”
Recognizing the urgent need to increase our capacity to serve this community, our immigration services team recently added a legal assistant to the program. And, with the help of a generous grant from the Richard K. and Shirley S. Hemingway Foundation, we can continue to expand our legal services for displaced individuals.
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We'd like to welcome our new legal assistant! |
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Daisy Empey first joined HCM as a Spanish translation intern. Daisy was hired as a full-time client support specialist after graduating from Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in Spanish translation. In that position, she learned a lot about HCM's immigration services and developed a keen understanding of the challenges that nonprofit organizations face. |
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Education Programming Spotlight |
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HCM's Summer Program is completely full of brilliant minds! The program is currently staffed by two teachers, two community volunteers, and two full-time University of Notre Dame volunteers, Makenna and Anna, who arrived in mid-May while the School Readiness Program (SRP) academic year was still in session. Their arrival aided in the completion of the 2021-2022 SRP academic year and the transition to summer. Makenna and Anna made an instant connection with the students and have dedicated their time to implementing academics in the Summer Program to ensure students continue to learn over the summer. They both have been creating an impact in the classroom by sharing their talents with the little ones.
The Summer Program serves children ages three to four. It is designed to continue teaching skills that will help students prepare for preschool and kindergarten as well as to make up time lost due to summer break. Fulfilling HCM's vision of "serving the underserved community," the Summer Program team tries to be flexible in accommodating as many families as possible in the program despite the narrow age range. This year, they received many inquiries from community members interested in enrolling previous students and kindergarten-aged students because there were no other camps available for their children's age range and they liked the program's focus on learning while also offering fun extracurricular activities.
The education team takes pride in ensuring that every student has fun while learning and is grateful for all the collaborations with other wonderful organizations that help us provide a more inclusive and diverse program. Thank you for your support, Ms. Chapa, Ms. Gonzalez, Summit County Attorneys, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, EATS Park City, PC MARC, Egyptian Theatre, Swaner Eco Center, Summit County Library, Park City Library, and Peace House!
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* In order to protect the privacy of those we serve, an alternative name and image is used for this HCM client. |
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SAVE THE DATE!
Thursday, November 10th, 2022
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Autumn Harvest Benefit is HCM's signature annual fundraising event that helps us enhance and expand our health outreach, counseling, early childhood education and legal services benefiting underserved families in our community. Please stay tuned for email and social media updates for more information and how to purchase tickets!
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