I wanted to make sure you got a chance to read this note from Katie, our Assistant Program Manager. Katie and I have been talking a lot about HB 1105, a new bill in Georgia that targets immigrants.
Although Katie is an American citizen who attends college, she feels renewed anxiety for her community when new laws or enforcement threaten the people she loves and depends on. Here's what she says:
I was swiping through Instagram stories and saw several friends reposting the same post. It was a warning about a checkpoint happening in heavily Hispanic areas in Lawrenceville and on Pleasantdale Road. I saw videos of Hispanics being arrested for driving without a license.
I began to panic and send texts to family members and close friends who might be affected. I couldn't calm down until I heard back that they were okay.
I began to think about how hard it is to live in the US as a Hispanic person. From the moment we step foot into an unknown elementary school where everybody is speaking English, and we are unable to communicate with people, to the moment we’re graduating high school and getting a higher education, our goals feel impossible because we don’t even know where to begin. When we do figure out what we need to reach our goals, it's unaffordable.
We need healthy community to navigate the challenge of life in a place where we feel unwelcome.
Presencia is able to provide a mentor who is bilingual and understands our students’ struggles. At Presencia we guide our students into a brighter future by providing an environment where they are loved and supported as they are. From here, they can grow and become healthy adults.
Katie Garduño
Assistant Program Manager