Music is a healing balm that transforms a heart burdened by loss. I work at a shelter for asylum seekers. Two years ago, for Christmas, my family and I shared the experience of a parranda with our residents. To partake in such jubilation amidst people who have endured unimaginable pain on their journeys to the United States was a moment we will never forget. There was dancing, clapping and ululations accompanying each song. We were one.

Sadly, asylum seekers have often been vilified and demonized in the news media. Politicians, eager to score political point, have frequently characterized them as representing a criminal element bent on causing harm and disruption once they arrive in the U.S. Some news outlets have done the same in feeding into the fear and resentment that this false narrative fosters.  What I have found, however, is a situation that is quite the opposite. What I have discovered in listening to these people tell their stories, is that they are humble and seeking safety and stability for themselves and their families. They are eager to work to support themselves, willing to follow the law, and eager to comply with the asylum legal process.

This overwhelmingly positive response to a humanitarian crisis gives me hope that the American people still have a sense of basic decency and a desire to do well by their neighbors who are in need, despite the hurtful rhetoric and mean-spirited decisions that our nation’s leaders are making at this time, and likely to continue making in the near future. The callous way that people are being treated at our southern border is inhumane and unnecessary and is a shameful blot on the character of this great nation. We must and can do better.

Hello and welcome, to our very first blog. At Jericho Road Community Health Center we care for our community and…