PROBLEM-SOLVED: RAFAEL'S JOURNEY HOME
拉斐尔, an immigrant from the Philippines first joined the North Valley Caring Services (NVCS) Safe Parking program in July 2019. Like many Filipino immigrants, he traveled to the United States in search of a better life in 1995.
拉斐尔 was a hardworking and dedicated individual for most of his life. It was only in January of 2019 that he was diagnosed with a chronic medical condition leading him to be admitted and discharged from the hospital for months. It was at this time when his employer fired him and his landlord evicted him, rendering him homeless. Even while living in his car and depending on NVCS for meals and showers, 拉斐尔 still was determined to get a job and resolve his housing crisis.
8 months into 拉斐尔’s enrollment in the Safe Parking program, the COVID-19 crisis hit. Given his underlying medical conditions and age, NVCS referred 拉斐尔 to Project RoomKey where he started staying in April. Realizing that it may be too dangerous for him to stay in the U.S., 拉斐尔 decided that it was time to go back to the Philippines, where his family could take care of him.
Determined to help 拉斐尔 return home safely, 劳拉•拉斯伯恩, director of the NVCS Safe Parking site, reached out to 现金娱乐网注册's Problem-Solving Specialist, 里卡多·里维拉, to propose the reunification of 拉斐尔 with his family. As long as 拉斐尔 could secure safe housing, his case home would be approved. Laura even went the extra step of working with Hope of the Valley to raise money for 拉斐尔 to get a passport.
Just when the Problem-Solving team was about to order 拉斐尔’s ticket through Problem-Solving Assistance Funds (PSAF), 他们遇到了困难. 拉斐尔丢了护照. To order a plane ticket, you needed to have a passport number. Laura figured that there could still be a way for 拉斐尔 to board a plane with a consulate letter, 但即便如此, you still needed a way to get a ticket. 进展又一次停止了.
Still, determined to help 拉斐尔 return home, Laura continued to problem-solve and found a solution. 显然, if you order a plane ticket through a travel agency, you do not need to have a passport number. The gears started turning once more. Upon arriving in the Philippines 拉斐尔 would be required to self-quarantine for 3 days, requiring him to stay at a motel due to COVID, and would have to figure out how to ship some of his belongings. To ensure all things were in order, Ricardo found a way to pay and book a motel and was able to add extra luggage to his flight, securing that no possessions were left behind.
一切就绪, 拉斐尔 boarded his flight in August and was finally able to see his family once more. 那是一次苦乐参半的团聚, with 拉斐尔 not fulfilling his dreams of succeeding in America—but now he was not just housed but reunited with his loving family.
拉斐尔 Piano waiting to check-in at LAX - image courtesy of 劳拉•拉斯伯恩
“It was such a touching experience to go with 拉斐尔 to the airport and help him check-in. I am grateful that I got to help someone start the next chapter of their life," said the Safe Parking Director.
拉斐尔 Piano assisted in a wheelchair - image courtesy of 劳拉•拉斯伯恩
Laura and her dedicated staff work every day to assist individuals with creating a plan to move from their vehicle and into housing. Luckily, for 拉斐尔, housing was a plane ticket away.
North Valley Caring Services is a nonprofit organization serving the residents in the Northeast San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. Since their humble beginnings as a soup kitchen more than three decades ago, they've continued to adapt services to the changing needs of the community. 今天, NVCS is a model center for community empowerment, offering a wide array of programs to enable residents to lift themselves out of poverty, while also encouraging them to build a vision for their community's future.
住房是可能的
Imagine how many more reunifications are possible through Problem-Solving.
COVID Relief funds is still are available for Problem-Solving interventions, 到12月20日, 2020. 有了这些救济资金, COVID-vulnerable家庭, 像拉斐尔的, may be assisted with up to two full months of move-in assistance to resolve their homelessness. If you haven't already done so, 报名 and complete the training on your own time, 在你自己的家里, to take advantage of this emergency resource.
The Problem-Solving training is a prerequisite to obtaining access to 现金娱乐网注册's centralized Problem-Solving Assistance Funds.