Yes, as an immigrant myself, I care very deeply about those families separated at the border trying to come into the country and escape war and gang violence in Central America. No, this is not a post about politics or why. It’s just a really short post to help those who want to help, a list of resources.

First of all, especially if you have kids and want to involve them in a very practical and constructive way, I strongly recommend #StandForKids. You fundraise for different organizations by selling lemonade and asking passers by, neighbors, etc. to fill out postcards that will get sent to the separated kids themselves. My family and I actually did this a couple days ago at our town’s weekly art/food/music bash downtown, and for the most part the response was really wonderful and positive. People got their kids involved and writing postcards. Many people elected to skip the lemonade and just donate.

Here are some other organizations that are helping out:

• The Young Center for immigrant children’s rights supports unaccompanied/separated children by connecting lawyers, social workers, bilingual volunteers in different places in the US as “Child Advocates” with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
• United We Dream - an immigrant youth/DACA run action network with many local centers dedicated to fighting for immigrant youth rights
• RAICES - 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency that promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees in Texas. Have been in the news lately.
• Al Otro Lado - focuses on providing legal support for refugees trying to enter at Tijuana/CA
  • NOTE: they are looking for volunteers! “Al Otro Lado needs volunteers!! We need immigration attorneys, paralegals, doctors, nurses, EMTs, social workers, mental health professionals, art therapists, and nice people who want to help out! “

Some other useful links, not necessarily separation or Southern-border related:

• The Urban Justice Center Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project - community and emergency legal support for refugees fighting deportation, detention, and raids
• UN High Commission for Refugees Stand #WithRefugees page
• The Jesuit Refugee Service - the Jesuits are my heroes, seriously. They seem to be focused on the Syrians.

I am also still actively researching ways to help, so please ping me and I will happily update this list as it evolves. Please share this to anyone looking to take action and make a difference!