MEDIA ADVISORY: During Hispanic Heritage Month, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington's Newcomer Services Offers Free Webinar Series Addressing Key Issues Facing the Hispanic Community  

Topics Include Understanding Immigration Law, Citizenship Requirements and Education and Workforce Development   

ARLINGTON, Va. - In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Catholic Charities Newcomer Services (Newcomer Services) is offering a series of four webinars to serve areas of critical need in the Hispanic community, including education and workforce development and expert guidance on immigration status. Newcomer Services provides ongoing support to help immigrants, refugees and asylees become self-sufficient and thriving members of American society. The program offers a combination of legal immigration consultation and representation, English-language instruction, other adult education programs, workforce development training, employment assistance, naturalization assistance, bilingual community education, and refugee resettlement and assistance services. (Newcomer Services is just one division of Catholic Charities that serves immigrants.)

“During Hispanic Heritage Month, we wanted to offer a special series of webinars to provide additional information and support to the Diocese's Hispanic community, which was hit particularly hard by the coronavirus,” said Jessica Estrada, Director of Newcomer Services, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Arlington. “These webinars address areas of critical need throughout the Hispanic community, offering expert guidance on issues related to immigration law, citizenship requirements and education and workforce development. We encourage anyone interested to join us for one or all of these sessions.”

WEBINAR SERIES

Topic: Volunteering with Catholic Charities to help Immigrants, Refugees and Other Newcomers

When:
Wednesday, September 30, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. 

Description:
Discuss the myriad of opportunities for providing volunteer support to the immigrant population of Northern Virginia. Opportunities include offering transportation, legal representation, tutoring, education, food distribution, medical support, and virtual volunteerism.

Registration Required:
For additional information and registration links, please visit ccda.net/need-help/immigrants-and-refugees/.

Topic: Know Your Rights (Spanish)

When:
Wednesday, October 7, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

Description:
Address concerns about mixed status families and what to do if you are detained or deported. The presentation is intended to assist non-U.S. citizens to know their legal rights and plan for unexpected emergencies. *English version available upon request.

Registration Required:
For additional information and registration links, please visit ccda.net/need-help/immigrants-and-refugees/.

Topic: Education and Workforce Development

When:
Wednesday, October 14, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

Description:
Learn about education and workforce development opportunities through Catholic Charities and what makes this program unique. Services include being assigned a volunteer job mentor to help conduct a successful job search and then prepare for employment.

Registration Required:
For additional information and registration links, please visit ccda.net/need-help/immigrants-and-refugees/

Topic: Immigration 101

When:
Wednesday, October 21, 11a.m.-12 p.m.

Description:
This presentation covers the basic categories of immigration status, the family-based immigration process, refugee and asylee processes, humanitarian-based types of status, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and how individuals become citizens through naturalization.

Registration Required:
For additional information and registration links, please visit ccda.net/need-help/immigrants-and-refugees/.

Interested media, contact Amber Roseboom, Director of Media Relations, Catholic Diocese of Arlington, at 571-215-8731 or Amber.Roseboom@arlingtondiocese.org.

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Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington serves the poor and vulnerable who live within the 21 counties and seven cities of the Diocese of Arlington, which is led by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. Catholic Charities provides food for the hungry, a free medical clinic for adults including prenatal care, adoption services, transformational housing for the homeless, mental health counseling, emergency financial assistance, prison ministry, workforce development, and immigration and refugee services. Catholic Charities serves all, regardless of faith.www.ccda.net.