On January 12, 2010 a catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake violently shook the island of Haiti, displacing as many as one million people and leaving severe damage in its wake. Its effects were felt around the world, and both communities and countries came together to offer their aid and support. In Evanston, a partnership between student organizations at Northwestern University and the Haitian community in Evanston has been formed with the help of the Center for Civic Engagement and School of Education and Social Policy professor Dan Lewis.
LIFT-Evanston student advocates reached out to to this collaborative to offer services to displaced Haitians and their families, and after meeting with Alderman Lionel Jean Baptiste (executive committee chariperson of the Haitian Congress to Fortify Haiti), Professor Lewis, and other members of the Northwestern community, the office is preparing how to best serve Haitian immigrants.
In the coming weeks and months, LIFT-Evanston will work closely with the the Congress to Fortify Haiti, as well as the Northwestern Community Development Corps and students from the Medill School of Journalism to help Haitian immigrants. Using LIFT’s individual service-based structure, LIFT-Evanston intends to hold immigration-related trainings with Northwestern professor Galya Ruffer, an American Immigration Lawyer’s Association (AILA) member, to prepare volunteers to aid those entering the country after the earthquake, and additionally, the office intends to offer specific services for immigration, public benefits, housing, and employment catered to these clients.
This news description was written by Nisha Arekapudi, LIFT-Evanston volunteer.
