It’s easy for those born in the United States to take the vote for granted.
But for those Annie Dimitras works with at the Refugee Women’s Alliance, or ReWA, the right to vote is taken seriously — almost like a sacred right.
“A lot of the people we work with at my organization are voting for the very first time, their very first opportunity,” said Dimitras, senior immigration & civic engagement program coordinator at ReWA. “They may be 70 and this is the first chance they’ve ever had to vote.”
As a child, I can recall two groups of strangers coming to our door: census workers and religious groups. My Latinx family of 7 never opened the door for either. The fear and lack of trust in government-affiliated institutions has always been tangible, and rightly so, in many marginalized communities. This fear has contributed to federally-underfunded schools, hospitals, public transportation, and even Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the past. All federal funding is guided and allocated through the findings of the decennial census.
The Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA) will soon be able to offer expanded services and new programs for the more than 12,000 families it serves annually once its headquarters’ renovation is complete.
When it opened 33 years ago, the Refugee Women’s Alliance – then known as the South East Asian Women’s Alliance – was comprised of just a few members in a small building. Now, the nonprofit is one of the largest in the area, and is about to expand even more, to meet the growing needs of immigrant and refugee women and children in Seattle, Washington.Continue reading Refugee Organization “Raises Roof” to Expand Support for Immigrant Women→
Amplifying the Authentic Narratives of South Seattle
