Story of Hope | The Hinojosa Family

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The Hinojosas found themselves homeless in 2016 after losing everything in a house fire. They survive on a fixed income from disability checks as Mario was disabled in a car accident, and Dee suffers from several health issues. Additionally, the two oldest children are diagnosed with Autism, relying on their parents for daily support.

Catholic Charities (CC) provided encouragement and guidance, nutritious meals, a safe place to rest at the Family Day Center, personalized mentorship at the Life Skills & Career Development Center (LSCDC), and the basics so Dee and Mario could focus on bigger goals. “I feel like they were our backbone of support,” Dee says. “Support that we couldn’t even get from family, we got from them. When we didn’t have access to laundry, the only way to switch up my kid’s clothes was to go to Catholic Charities’ Kidz Klozet and get clothes for them.” Dee and Mario spent nearly every day at LSCDC working towards their goals. Their hard work and perseverance, coupled with compassionate guidance from CC staff and volunteers paid off as Dee was able to obtain a Personal Care Worker certification so she could become a caretaker for her own children and planned to pick up extra work for other individuals with disabilities. The family found an affordable rental apartment that had enough bedrooms for the whole family, and CC moved them in right before Christmas, providing household goods, temporary mattresses until they could arrange for furniture, and even a Christmas Tree and stockings.

The kids are happily attending school and participating in extracurricular activities. Natasha is involved in a program that is helping her become more independent, while Mario is working towards rebuilding his tattoo career and expanding his entrepreneurial skills by making and selling walking sticks. Dee is happily taking care of the family in her own home while growing vegetables in her garden. Twelve months after moving into their apartment, life is looking fairly normal.

“Homelessness is a humbling experience,” Dee says. “I want to live the American Dream. I want a home. I want a car. I want my kids to be established in the community with friends, all that normal fun stuff. I want beautiful Saturdays out in the mountains with my family.”

Recently, Eric and Ivonne Bass, BIA Accredited Immigration Counselor, spent one week in Dilley, TX providing pro-bono services to jailed immigrant families – mostly single mothers with children. This effort was a part of the CARA Pro Bono Project, a collaboration between multiple groups across the nation to respond to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s expansion of family detention in Dilley. Eric and Ivonne helped to prepare women for Credible Fear Interviews in which the women have the opportunity to provide a basis for an asylum case. If they pass the interview, the women are released and will later appear before an immigration judge to argue for asylum. “It’s like a battleground triage where you just try and do the best you can,” Eric described their short week working long hours in Dilley. He and Ivonne, along with 18 other volunteers, were each able to meet with 40 women that week briefly. Typically, CARA relies on only 5-6 volunteers each week.

“When you mention ‘detention center,’ people assume they are criminals” Ivonne described her work with immigrants in Dilley, “These are women who are fleeing their countries because of violence.” The majority of families are from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, with few from other Central and South American Countries.
Following their week in Dilley, the FIS team continues to be involved with the CARA project by taking cases of women who have been released from the detention center and are preparing for their asylum hearing in Colorado.

For more information about CARA, please visit caraprobono.org.

Thank you to Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) for collaborating with Catholic Charities on this video.

 Photo Courtesy:  The Denver Post

Last Updated:  July 12, 2016, 10:30 am

The most up-to-date source of information on how you can help is located at HelpColoradoNow.org

COLD SPRINGS FIRE UPDATE:

COVOAD (Colorado Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) and 211 are monitoring the Cold Springs Fire near Nederland.  BoCoVOAD is active and has representatives in the Boulder EOC.  The state OEC remains activated to help support local firefighting efforts.  The estimated size of the fire remains at approximately 600 acres. Afternoon conditions are expected to be challenging as temperatures rise and the winds pick up.

Evacuation Centers:

The American Red Cross is currently operating two evacuation centers with overnight shelters:

Nederland High School – 597 Eldora Road and East Boulder Recreation Center – 5660 Sioux Drive.  Pets are welcome at both locations. Crates and dog food are being provided for them as well.

Feeding services are being provided by The Salvation Army and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.

FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: 

A fire relief fund has been set up through Foothills United Way to help residents impacted by the Cold Springs Fire near Nederland.  Those seeking to make a donation can visit  www.ColdSpringsFireFund.org.    The funds will be distributed by the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services through case managers working with fire-impacted residents. This is the best way the community can assist fire survivors at this time.

There are still no current in-kind donations or volunteer needs.  

All community members seeking volunteer or donation opportunities are encouraged to visit www.HelpColoradoNow.org to sign up for updates and email newsletters.

Boulder OEM anticipates it will be at least 2-3 days before many evacuated residents can return to their homes.  As of Sunday evening, a total of 1,991 residents have been evacuated.

For Boulder County OEM Updates, including current information on road closures, fire perimeter, and evacuation maps, please visit:  www.boulderoem.com

HAYDEN PASS FIRE UPDATE:

FREMONT COUNTY – The Hayden Pass Fire burning near Coaldale in Fremont County doubled in size Monday, mostly to the east, and is now burning more than 12,000 acres.  Fire officials say they expect the fire to continue moving towards Coaldale, reaching the town in 12-24 hours.  Officials warn that Highway 50 may be closed Tuesday, depending on fire conditions.  About 109 homes have been evacuated. Evacuation areas include south of County Road 6, within a three-mile radius of County Road 6 and County Road 45, and County Road 40, including the Fox Creek Subdivision.

Evacuation Centers:

The fire department in Howard is an evacuation shelter, and Chaffee County Fairgrounds in Salida is taking in animals.  Around 80 animals have been evacuated.

Fremont County Sheriff’s Office said on their Facebook page that they do not need volunteers for animal evacuations and that they will request help if they do.  Call 784-3411 for information on volunteering.

CONTRIBUTIONS: 

Water donations are NOT needed at this time, as they received numerous pallets of water on Monday.