Contact: Scott Adrian
608-266-4114
In response to rising fears in the community resulting from the President’s policies on immigration, Dane County is moving forward with new services to help local immigrants, County Executive Joe Parisi announced today.
“Real people, working hard every day to raise their kids and support their families are unnecessarily living in fear and looking for reasons for hope,” Parisi said. “By starting up a fund for the community to build upon and dedicating a new county position to connect those in need of services to help that’s available, we’re responding to the unnerving and uninformed policies coming from Washington D.C.”
Parisi first introduced the new services for immigrants in partnership with community providers several weeks ago.
https://www.countyofdane.com/press/details.aspx?id=3975
A resolution authorizing the new services is slated for final approval this evening.
The new $150,000 Immigration Assistance Fund will be housed with a community partner, such as the Madison Community Foundation. Partnering organizations will look to raise additional dollars in the months to come to help meet the growing need for immigration and citizenship services in the area. In turn, they’ll access the funds for the work they do in the community.
The new position, housed in Dane County Human Services, will serve as a point of contact for those in community inquiring about existing county services and do outreach work to make sure those eligible for help are linked with the appropriate public or non-profit resources. The position will team with county resources already in neighborhoods such as Joining Forces for Families.
“Like the rest of America, immigrants define the culture of our great county. Whether it’s Syttende Mai, Festa Italia, Fiesta Hispana or Africa Fest we celebrate the diversity of who we are all across Dane County each year,” Parisi said. “That’s why it’s imperative we stand together in support of our friends, neighbors, families, and employers and do our part to offer a little hope and optimism in what’s become such an unnecessarily divisive time in our nation’s history.”
