SWIRC is Developing an Immigration Curriculum Thanks to the Faith in Action Grant Program

Education has always been an essential part of our work. Our Executive Director, Kevin Piecuch, has done informative programs with supporters, know-your-rights sessions with immigrant groups and been a contributor on panels. We’ve always presented at the invitation of another group and addressed that group’s interests.

Part of our long-term intention is to do more education and develop our own programs. We will provide material tailored to the interests of our supporter communities, the needs of our clients and also offer continuing education experiences for legal professionals interested in serving people with immigration needs. We see this as a crucial part of our vision of Southeast Michigan becoming a welcoming place where recent immigrants can thrive, making all our communities stronger.

In the Spring, we were awarded a Faith in Action grant by the Presbytery of Detroit toward the development of a curriculum on immigration issues in the Detroit area. We intend to use this curriculum with communities of supporters who are interested in learning more about how immigration works nationally and how it affects us in the Detroit area. Ultimately, it will serve to bring more concerned citizens into a posture of support and accompaniment alongside their immigrant neighbors.

We’re excited to have the Presbytery of Detroit as our partner in this way, we know that they are a community which is interested in welcoming our immigrant neighbors! They are providing the support for the creation of this resource, and we expect to host our first sessions using it in Presbytery of Detroit churches in the late fall or winter.

We have a couple locations lined up but would love to have more. Please contact us if you are interested in learning about this new program on immigration we are developing.

The Southwest Detroit Immigrant and Refugee Center provides free and low-cost legal services to those who need them most in the Detroit area, with a focus on recent immigrants and refugees.

We were founded in 2014 by Kevin Piecuch, our Executive Director and principal attorney, to help meet the great need for quality legal services in underserved communities. We believe that everyone deserves justice regardless of your country of origin, the color of your skin, or your ability to afford an attorney.

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