A Costa Mesa church on Sunday afternoon hosts the launch of a nonprofit campaign to raise financial assistance for the families of those held in immigration-detention facilities.
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Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church at 2845 Mesa Verde Dr. E. is the site of the launch party and silent auction for Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement (CIVIC) and the Detainee Friends Project at Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church (NUUC) of Pasadena from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
That's also the day a concurrent, three-month GoFundMe.com crowdsourcing campaign begins. (Donors and applicants can find more information at CIVIC's website, http://www.endisolation.org/directsupport.)
Artwork by Lalo Alcaraz and Marcela Castro is among the items up for bid in the silent auction in Costa Mesa that hopes to raise funds for “micro-grants” that “provide financial assistance to people in immigration detention, the recently released and their families nationwide who are suffering under harsh immigration laws,” says CIVIC's Jan Meslin.
“Solitary confinement and poor living conditions are common in both public and private detention facilities. Imprisonment also causes severe financial hardship for people in detention and their families,” explains Meslin, whose group joined with the NUUC to create the nonprofit Direct Support Fund grant program.
Meanwhile, both entities continue to advocate for the human and civil rights of people in U.S. immigration detention and fight for fair immigration policy. “However, the process is long and could take many years,” Meslin says. “The Direct Support Fund offers immediate relief to people suffering now.” Email her at JM*****@en**********.org or phone (385) 212-4842.
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