The BC Progressive Democrats Club had a jam-packed agenda at our meeting on May 23. We want to thank all our guest speakers for their informative and timely presentations. As a follow-up, we are emailing each speaker’s contact information and summary of their talks to our membership list.
Baltimore immigration realities
Immigration attorney Jared Jaskot educated us on the harsh realities of the daunting legal process and the hurdles faced by refugees seeking asylum. If you have ever asked yourself “What can I, as an individual, do to help refugees, especially children?”, Jared has some concrete answers to that question, including taking an unaccompanied child into your home, and accompanying asylum seekers to court dates.
He told us about Sanctuary Streets Baltimore, an organization that conducts training to prepare volunteers to accompany asylum seekers and other immigrants to court dates or ICE check ins.
Contact Jared at Jared@jaskot.law
Sanctuary Streets Baltimore is on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/pg/
______________________________
DC Detention Visitation Network
Peter Meredith and Tana Stevenson told us about the work of the the DC Detention Visitation Network(DC DVN), whose mission is to provide friendship and support for people in immigration detention. They make social visits to people who are detained by ICE in MD and VA.
DC DVN offers training and organizes visits to the detention facilities. For further information or to volunteer, contact Peter at:
410-440-9527 or meridith.peter@gmail.com
Or go to the DC Detention Visitation Network’s website:
https://dcdetentionvisitation.
____________________
Maryland Beyond Coal
The Sierra Club’s Matt Dernoga spoke about the deleterious effects of coal fired power plants on human health and the environment. He presented the Sierra Club’s plan for closing the last six coal fired power plants in Maryland. He stressed the importance of including provisions for re-training of workers displaced by closure of the plants. You can view the slides of his presentation using this link:
You can reach Matt at:
240-593-1268 or matt.Dernoga@mdsierra.org
______________________________
Friends of the Jones Falls
Dick Williams introduced us to the newly formed Friends of the Jones Fall, whose mission is to preserve, protect, enhance, and conserve the Jones Falls watershed while promoting sustainable development. He told us about the goals of the organization and what is has accomplished thus far. He encouraged us to support the Friends of the Organization and to get involved.
To view his presentation use the link below:
You can contact Dick Williams by email: friendsofthejonesDW@gmail.com
On on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/
_____________________________
Again,thank you to our speakers and we hope to see everyone at our next meeting on June 27 at 7 PM.