Immigration and trauma
Brother Daryl Charron, C.PP.S., Provincial Councilor
This semester at San Felice House of Formation in Chicago, we have been focusing on immigration as a social justice topic to study together. Given the importance of this issue so prevalent in the news these days, I thought it necessary to bring in some speakers to enlighten us about immigration from their standpoint in ministry. It just so happened that we did not have to look too far in finding a connection to such desired speakers living among us. Marc Innocent Prophete, a Victorian seminarian who is living with us and going to CTU, made the suggestion we needed.
Marc established a connection with Br. Michael Gosch of the Viator House of Hospitality, who in turn made a connection with Sr. Kathlyn Mulcahy of Bethany House of Hospitality. The two of them recently came to speak with us about their ministry to immigrants in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. More specifically, they defined their ministry to asylum seekers rather than refugees. That is, their houses of hospitality offer housing and support services to young immigrant men and women as they journey to independence. Most of these men and women are between the ages of 18 to 25. They have come from as many as 26 different countries.
Br. Michael and Sr. Kathlyn shared heartfelt stories of their residents and the trauma they endured in coming to the United States. They explained to us the three layers of trauma immigrants experience: trauma at home that prompts them to leave, trauma experienced on the journey, and the trauma of navigating the asylum system once they get here. Viator House and Bethany House can provide them with safety and psychological support and case management in coping with such trauma. Beyond these basic services, I was impressed with how they also provided interfaith spiritual accompaniment as well as cultural adaptation and integration.
I believe Fr. Corey Brost, executive director of Viator House, summed up the thrust of their Viatorian ministry in one of their brochures. He said, “Survivors of trauma need a connection. That means they feel they are surrounded by people who welcome them, who create and maintain a community where they can be themselves.” The way Br. Michael and Sr. Kathlyn described their ministries to us, I felt they truly provided the environment that Fr. Corey described. They did well to build relationships with the many men and women who came to the door of their houses of hospitality. Overall, I felt more enlightened about immigration and more equipped to help immigrants in several concrete ways as a result of Br. Michael and Sr. Kathlyn speaking to us.