ASHEVILLE — Refugees fleeing religious persecution in Eastern Europe are finding a new home in Asheville, thanks to a new program of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.
Catholic Charities has resettled 38 refugees since July 1 from Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine through its Remote Placement Program, a joint partnership with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. State Department that is an expansion of its existing refugee resettlement program in Charlotte.
The Asheville refugees are a bit different than the typical refugees its Charlotte office assists, however: most have family members already here who can help them when they arrive.
“Each of these refugees is coming to the U.S. because a family member completed an affidavit of relationship through the Lautenberg Program, a program that began in 1989 to help someone living in the U.S. to bring over a relative living in the former Soviet Union,” said Susan Jassan, program director for Catholic Charities.
Catholic Charities expects to assist a total of 99 refugees with this program by the end of November.
The federal Lautenberg Program is now closed, Jassan added, but there is a possibility it could reopen in January.
Staff in Catholic Charities’ Asheville office are busy assisting the recent refugees with basic services including cultural orientation, completing legal paperwork, signing up for English classes, registering children for school, setting up medical appointments, and helping them with housing, food and clothing assistance when needed.
“Last week we had six families arrive on the same day!” said Marina Gundorin, immigration supervisor for the Asheville office. “It was very crazy. The first flight arrived around 1:45 p.m. (Aug. 23) and the last flight came in around midnight.”
In many cases, Catholic Charities staff are present when the refugees arrive at the Asheville airport. In other cases, the refugees’ American relatives help them when they step off the plane.
The Kulbeda family arrived Aug. 20 from Belarus. The family of six led by mother Liudmila, 31, and her husband, Aleh, 33, sought a better life for their four children, who are aged 2-9. They are Pentecostal Christians reuniting with their family, fleeing religious persecution at home, and have waited two years to come to the U.S.
Liudmila’s grandparents, whom they had not seen for 10 years, served as their family connection for their refugee application and are currently providing them with a place to live. They were able to bring only one bag per person on their flight to the U.S., so they are starting over from scratch.
“We are very happy to be here with family,” they said through interpreter Marina Gundorin. “There are a lot of new things to learn.”
The Kulbedas were thrilled that there is a community of similar refugees already in Asheville and that Catholic Charities staff spoke their language.
“When you come to a new, unknown place where you do not understand anything and all of a sudden someone speaks and you understand! That’s huge! And then they help you!
“We felt a lot of support and encouragement from the office,” they said.
The Kulbeda children began elementary school with the other children in their area Aug. 29, but unlike their classmates they do not yet speak English. Special accommodations for English as a Second Language classes are being made for them.
“So (the) parents are very worried and anxious about the kids,” Gundorin explained.
Catholic Charities was able to provide three backpacks and school supplies for the children to help ease their transition.
The universal language of toys seems to be a big hit with the children so far.
“They especially like all the toys that they have never seen before,” Liudmila said.
Aleh, the father, is a carpenter and hopes to find employment quickly.
When asked what he and Liudmila hope for their family, Aleh replied, “to learn English and have our own, safe home.” They also hope someday to afford a washer and a dryer to do their laundry.
Asheville has a housing shortage, Gundorin explained, with a 98 percent occupancy rate, which means “it’s a tremendous challenge to find an apartment or anything to rent, so for right now, they are living with grandparents.”
Still, Gundorin said, she is very pleased with the larger Asheville community’s reception of the new arrivals.
“We have so much community support,” she said.
“This program is prompting us to make partnerships in the community. The Department of Social Services, the local community, medical community, college community – all have partnered with us.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Pictured: Three members of the Pavlov family arrived from Ukraine at the Asheville airport Aug. 23. Serhii, Svitlana and their daughter Milana joined members of their extended family who have moved to the U.S. for a better life. Serhii’s brother applied to bring the young family to the U.S. (Photo provided by Kelly Matsey)
CHARLOTTE — It’s summer, and that means lots of summer camps. In the Diocese of Charlotte, summer is also the season for Totus Tuus.
Now in its sixth year in the diocese, Totus Tuus summer camps are dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic faith to children in rising first grade through the 12th grade through catechesis, evangelization, Christian witness and Eucharistic worship. “Totus Tuus,” a Latin phrase meaning “totally yours,” was the motto of St. John Paul II. Taken from St. Louis de Montfort’s “True Devotion to Mary,” it signifies the desire to give oneself entirely to Jesus Christ through Mary.
One of the 18 parishes participating in Totus Tuus this summer has been St. Thomas Aquinas Church, which held its faith-filled summer camp for kids on July 10-15.
This year’s theme in all the parishes, including St. Thomas Aquinas, has been about “Prayer and the Our Father.” There has also been an emphasis on the Glorious Mysteries of the rosary.
As in other parishes, the program at St. Thomas Aquinas has grown in participants and volunteers since its first year. Coordinated by Sister Edeva Jover, parish youth ministry director, this year’s summer camp included more than 50 children.
Totus Tuus inspires the parish youth, Sister Edeva said. “The kids want to go to Mass and experience Holy Hour.”
Sarah Booles, a Totus Tuus participant and rising 10th-grader, describes the program as a mixture of fun and growing in faith.
“I look forward to our group discussions,” Booles said. “It’s enlightening.”
She and fellow participants Valentina Morales, Josie Peplinski and Katheryn Ryan agreed that Totus Tuus gave them a chance to learn more about Christ.
Totus Tuus also provides a unique opportunity for college students to become missionaries, of a sort. Catechists, grouped into teams of two young men and two young women, lead the week-long camp at each parish, teaching and inspiring the parish’s youth.
This year three teams of catechists traveled around the 18 parishes over the seven weeks when Totus Tuus camps have been offered.
One of those catechists was Mary Grace Bergen, a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. She describes Totus Tuus as a combination of Christian witness and one’s own experience in faith, mixing Bible stories, prayers, Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, games, songs and more into interactive lessons that encourage kids to deepen their faith.
“I want to provide a better understanding of what the Catholic Church is,” Bergen said, “the one Church Jesus established, that is continuously growing and thriving.”
The mission of the program is to inspire youth to make their faith “totally yours,” she said.
— Rachel McKimmon, Correspondent
ARDEN — Miami Circle is empty now. No children are playing under the shady oak trees or riding their bikes along the quiet street. No one is chatting on their front decks that peek out over Lake Julian, or sharing the latest news at the neighborhood mailboxes.
The last of the 55 families who once called Miami Circle home moved out this week, after the land they lived on for decades was sold to a developer who will build a 290-unit apartment complex there. But what began as a sad, inevitable chapter in the gentrification of south Asheville became so much more – thanks to the Holy Spirit and the work of a tenacious group of parishioners at St. Barnabas Church in Arden.
The story began Jan. 31, when residents of Lakeview Mobile Home Park (as Miami Circle is formally called) received letters notifying them that the land beneath their trailer homes had been sold. Each family would get $1,000 to move out by July 1.
“We didn’t know how to react. How do you react? Who do you scream at?” says Maria Escobedo, who’s lived on Miami Circle for eight years. We were shocked, we were mad.”
The residents – mostly poor, first-generation Latino immigrants with limited English and knowledge of the law – were also scared.
“We’ve been there so long that it was just like one big family. Everything was just perfect,” recalls Escobedo. “Once the letter came, we were like, ‘What do we do? How do we get out of here so quickly?’ We’d been living here so long that it was just a shock.”
Residents turned to Deacon Rudy Triana at St. Barnabas Church. As the Hispanic liaison for the parish, Deacon Rudy knew that more than half of Miami Circle’s residents were parishioners.
“A lot of them were in tears,” Deacon Rudy says. “The majority of them are very shy, very afraid of their position, and they really didn’t know what their rights were.”
Pictured: Miguel, who lived on Miami Circle for 10 years, tried to find a buyer for his mobile home without much success. Originally from El Salvador, Miguel says, “They say this is a nation of immigrants – I guess because you have to move from one place to another constantly.” (Photos by Patricia L. Guilfoyle, Catholic News Herald)
With the approval of Father Adrian Porras, pastor, the deacon quickly recruited others to the cause: among them Susan Chitwood, chairperson of the parish’s Peace and Social Justice Commission; John Smith of the local St. Vincent de Paul Society, which had helped many of the residents in the past with financial assistance; and Nick Haskell, Catholic Charities’ poverty and justice education coordinator for western North Carolina. Chitwood, an attorney, and Deacon Rudy, with 30 years’ experience in real estate and development, spearheaded the team, which grew to include other churches and civic leaders and – importantly – the Miami Circle residents themselves.
Following Haskell’s advice, the residents chose leaders to represent them, including the bilingual 20-year-old Escobedo as neighborhood president.
“We had a couple of meetings at the mailboxes,” Escobedo says with a laugh. “That’s the only place where you could actually meet. It was perfect for everybody.”
This teamwork was critical, Haskell points out, to ensure “that it’s not the Church doing this for people, it’s us doing it together.”
They figured out how much it would cost for the residents to move their trailers or find new homes, and what other help they needed. And they listened closely to the residents, some of whom were afraid to go up against the developer given their tenuous position.
Children are no longer playing on the swing or riding their bicycles in the Miami Circle neighborhood of Arden. The 200-plus residents have moved out, thanks to help from St. Barnabas Church members and others, before the land is redeveloped for an apartment complex. Most of their mobile homes have largely been abandoned because they are too old to move or sell.
“They were scared that if they pushed it too far, it could be worse,” Escobedo says.
They knew there was no law to prevent the residents from being evicted. And while many of them owned their mobile homes, they had only month-by-month ground leases. Even if they could pick up and move, the trailers were too old to put on the road again, and mobile home parks with vacancies in the Asheville area are scarce. In fact, Buncombe County has only a 1 percent vacancy rate on apartments and affordable housing options are rare, Smith notes.
“So there’s nowhere to go.”
Deacon Rudy and the others arranged a meeting at the church with the developer, Hathaway Development of Atlanta. It was a pivotal moment, everyone says.
With the help of volunteer translators from nearby St. Eugene Church in Asheville, residents found their voice. They explained how they would be forced to leave friends they’d known for years, their children would have to change schools, they didn’t know where to go even if they did have the money to move. Also, Miami Circle was perfectly situated near the grocery store and school – no car needed. People were losing more than just their homes.
“That was very moving for me and I think for the other people there,” recalls Haskell. “Because people were just really saying how they felt about what was happening. You could see how hard it was for them. They really didn’t feel that they had a voice. They didn’t think people would listen to them, because they felt marginalized.”
Deacon Rudy recounts persistently negotiating with the developer for more time to move and more money – first $2,000, then $4,000, then $8,500. He, Chitwood, Escobedo and others attended hundreds of hours of meetings and sought help from anyone in the community they could think of. Through all the ups and downs of the process, they say they learned more about local politics than they ever imagined, and they suffered doubts about ever having any success for the people of Miami Circle.
At a June 14 Asheville City Council meeting, thanks to mediation from Mayor Esther Manheimer, the developer offered a payment of about $5,253 per family and an extension to Sept. 1 to move out. The residents, led by Escobedo and Deacon Rudy, gratefully accepted.
“Under the law, the City Council didn’t have to listen to us at all,” Deacon Rudy says. “The developers, under the law, didn’t have to give us one penny – not even $1,000.”
He told city leaders after the vote, “Thank you for giving a voice to the voiceless, a face to the faceless, and dignity that Jesus Christ has guaranteed us all.
“That was the moral authority of the Church, and I really think that the Holy Spirit guided all of us to this conclusion,” he says.
Adds Chitwood, “We always worked from our hearts. It was just like a drum beat, a heartbeat. And it worked.”
Developer Nick Hathaway told the Asheville Citizen-Times afterwards, “We all worked together to our best with such a complicated and difficult situation. We were just happy that everyone had found an acceptable agreement that was the best we could financially offer for support.”
But the story doesn’t end there.
When it came time to give out the first of two payments to the Miami Circle families at the parish on Aug. 1, the Holy Spirit was present again, they say.
Deacon Rudy, Chitwood, Escobedo and the others were all there, so was Miami Circle’s landowner Wes Reinhardt. Homeward Bound, an Asheville non-profit that finds housing for the homeless, had been chosen to hand out the money, but during the meeting Reinhardt jumped in, personally speaking with families as they received their checks. A spirit of joy spread through the room.
“People were so friendly,” Chitwood recalls. “It was like we’d all grown up and gone to elementary school together!”
Residents will receive the rest of their money sometime in September, when the developer closes on its apartment deal. Meanwhile, they’ve all either sold or abandoned their old trailer homes to resettle wherever they could find affordable housing. The St. Vincent de Paul Society is using a $5,000 grant from the National Council of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul to help with moving expenses.
And St. Barnabas parishioners have learned a lot.
Escobedo not only found an apartment, she discovered an interest in business and is changing her major at Asheville–Buncombe Technical Community College.
And, as she has seen the ties grow closer between St. Barnabas’ Anglo and Latino parishioners, she notes, “I pretty much earned a new family with all of this. People are now coming together. It was a blessing at the end of the day.”
“Never doubt what God is telling you. Never doubt your faith,” she says. “Be strong, and ask for help when needed, because there’s people there to help you.”
Deacon Rudy says he is thankful to God that the parish could serve as the hands of Christ for the people of Miami Circle.
“It was a great way for the Church to be seen in the community – that we’re not just about ourselves, but that we care about the whole community,” adds Haskell. “It is the Church putting faith into action, and living its faith outside of the church building.”
Chitwood says she’s learned that “through prayer, whether formulated or just felt, if you act in faith, graces are given.”
Everyone agrees that through God’s grace, they turned what had been a problem affecting a group of poor people into an opportunity to grow closer to fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter which side of the negotiating table they were on.
“That’s what we’re called to do: love our neighbor,” Chitwood says. “Everybody has dignity. He or she is created in the image and likeness of God, whether they have a bank account that’s huge or a house that’s in shambles, or no house.”
This was about Catholic social justice – solidarity and subsidiarity – in action, she adds.
“This wasn’t a big government movement. This was just people, local people, saying, ‘Wait a minute. Something’s not right about this. Let’s make it right.’ And we did. We did.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, Editor
ASHEVILLE — Just weeks after Pope Francis' trip to the U.S. last fall, St. Eugene Parish leaders completed a long-range, environmentally friendly savings project. On Oct. 28 they installed 147 solar panels atop the parish hall to help curb electric costs at the parish.
The $143,476 project was a joint effort of the parish's Care of Creation committee, the pastoral council, diocesan officials and pastor Father Patrick Cahill. Parishioners raised the money through donations and matching grants, reaching their goal six months after a "Solar Sunday Weekend" appeal earlier in the year.
"On March 8, 2015, when we announced the Solar Panels Project we projected a 22 percent savings on our electric bill," said Bill Maloney, organizer of the project. "Comparing bills from Dec. 10, 2015, to June 13, 2016, with the same period a year earlier, we exceeded our goal."
The parish reports that the 147 solar panels reduced their electricity cost last year by $4,694 for a savings of 35.5 percent, with an environmental savings of 27 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The panels have a 25-year warranty, so the parish anticipates savings will continue as the cost of electricity rises.
"An added bonus is that part of the project cost was sales tax," Maloney explained. "After filing with the IRS, the parish expects to receive back $5,059."
"When St. Eugene's Care of Creation Committee presented this solar panel proposal, I thought it a great idea and we supported the project," said Pete McHugh, who served as a past chair of the pastoral council and was on board from the beginning of the project's inception.
"We were unsure what the actual savings in electricity usage would be, but we believed that there would be some substantial reduction and carbon emissions would also be reduced. We believed then, and still do, that this was a direct response to (Pope Francis' encyclical) 'Laudato Si.'"
Parishioner Cynthia Gibbs agrees that this project has had a positive financial and environmental impact.
"I think it is imperative that we evaluate and invest in projects that will reduce our carbon footprint, and I was thrilled with St. Eugene's plan to install solar panels. Not only have we reduced our electrical bills, but we are following the spirit and theme of Pope Francis' 'Laudato Si' in taking care of our common home. It makes me so proud.
"I believe all North Carolina parishes should take a look at our success with solar panels and consider installing solar panels themselves."
"To see the savings in the electricity bills to date is very exciting, to say the least, and certainly justifies the worth of this project," McHugh said.
As a result of this project three parish families have installed solar panels on their homes and are also seeing significant savings.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Helping others learn to care for creation
If your parish or school is looking for a way to reduce your electricity bill and benefit the environment, give the parish a call. "We will be glad to share with you what we learned," Maloney said. Call the parish office at 828-254-5193.
WINSTON-SALEM — At 99 years old Joseph Baldi is more active than most people half his age. He lives independently, tends his vegetable garden, cooks meals (his mother’s special spaghetti recipe is a favorite), cuts his own lawn and walks one mile each day with friends. He is also an active member of St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem, where he ushers and has recently honored his late wife Margaret with a special endowment fund.
Baldi worked as a senior project engineer assigned to government projects for more than three decades before retiring from Lucent Technologies in 1981. He met Margaret, a nurse, while they were both working at Western Electric in New Jersey.
"When I injured my back on the job, my supervisor sent me to the company doctor,” he recalls. “Margaret was the nurse that day, and the next day I saw her again on the bus on the way to work. We started talking and two years later we were married.”
They spent the next 60 years together. During that time, they raised a son and a daughter and lived in Germany, France, Japan, Hawaii and Thailand for his work on various communications projects.
“When I was released from the service, my first assignment was with Project Mercury, the man in space program. Then I was reassigned to the Government Services Department, which took us to Paris for four years, and we also spent four years near Heidelberg, Germany. My daughter learned to speak both French and German and we enjoyed our time there.”
When they returned from Europe, Baldi was offered another job opportunity – this time in North Carolina.
“I was asked to be a project engineer on the Safeguard Project. So we moved here in 1972 and have lived here ever since,” he says.
A self-proclaimed “outdoors person,” he says, “I am busier now during retirement than when I worked! I love gardening and grow
more than I need so I can share my harvest with neighbors.”
He has also decided to share with his parish, specifically with the children of St. Leo School. After learning about the Robert and Gladys Vitelli Memorial Endowment Fund, Joseph was inspired to give back in the same way.
“I thought an endowed fund was something I could do, too,” he explains. “I had heard that some of the children who wanted to attend St. Leo School could not afford the tuition, so I created the Joseph and Margaret Baldi Fund to provide tuition assistance.”
Baldi, who has also provided support for his parish and Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte through charitable gift annuities, says he liked the idea of honoring his wife with this special gift.
“We have four grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, and I know my wife would have loved the idea of a gift that helps children get a good Catholic education.”
— Reprinted from “Your Legacy,” a Planned Giving newsletter for the Diocese of Charlotte