An Immigrant and Refugee Community Resource Fair will take place June 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Christ Lutheran Inner Harbor Church, located at 701 S. Charles St. in Baltimore City.
The resource fair is a collaboration between the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MIMA) and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). The press announcement states the fair will help people find “healthcare services, immigration legal services, food access, public benefit navigation, health insurance, community organization, schools, ESOL classes, and more.”
Fair organizers are looking for volunteers who speak any of the following languages to help at the fair: Spanish, French, Swahili, Lingala, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, Amharic, Tigrinya, Arabic, Dari, Pashto, Nepalese or Ukrainian. People interested in volunteering to provide language support for fair attendees can sign up here.
MIMA’s mission is “to promote community wellbeing, economic development, and the integration of immigrant communities by identifying needs and opportunities that immigrants bring to our city, while developing public-private partnerships to strengthen the development of these communities,” according to its website.
The office focuses broadly on economic growth and community well-being as having “the greatest potential to leverage existing resources and identify additional gaps and opportunities, in order to recognize and benefit from the valuable assets that New Americans bring to Baltimore.”
LIRS is an 80-year-old non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring “All migrants and refugees are protected, embraced and empowered in a world of just and welcoming communities,” according to its website’s “Mission and Vision” page. Their work involves refugee resettlement, foster care services, family reunification, empowering new Americans, welcoming migrants, and engaging communities.
