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Productive Work Day
On Saturday, October 9, 23 volunteers showed up to help with household and yard maintenance chores. 15 of these were assembled by Sr. Margie Nieman of St. Bernard Church. They handled indoor and outdoor tasks, including organizing, sorting, and inventorying linens, toys, and children’s clothing; assembling furniture for the children’s education area; and clearing out […]
Family Support Worker (Bilingual) Employment: Full-time position
Casa de Paz, is a non-profit residential center that focuses on Latina women and children who suffer from domestic violence and who are eager to transform their lives. We seek to provide a culturally sensitive, caring community and temporary home where healing and growth can take place. Residents will participate in a six-month program designed […]
Share the Journey: A Concert for Compassion
Bellarmine Chapel will once again host Share the Journey: A Concert for Compassion on Sept 24th and 25th, 7-9 PM. The concert will be live and live-streamed and will raise funds for three organizations on the front line of working with immigrants and refugees, Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, Casa de Paz, and the Kino Border […]
Making Tortillas
Pat, pat, pat, tap, tap, tap, pat, pat, pat. There is a rhythm to making fresh tortillas. The hands pat the dough into a perfectly round, beautiful creation. Then, it is placed on a griddle or comal. Once the first tortilla is on the comal, the patting continues with the next tortilla. When both sides […]
One Stitch At A Time
I met Marta* a few weeks ago. She had just arrived at Casa de Paz. Amidst all of the turmoil and sadness of her case and circumstances, she was eager to connect and to show me photos of her cooking, knitting, and crocheting. I was so impressed, that I wanted to learn more. Marta was […]
Bansi Patel Our Newest Intern
My name is Bansi Patel. I am a new intern at Casa de Paz, and I have been here for about a month and a half. From the moment I walked into the home, I knew it was a safe and supportive place. The Executive Director Mrs. Julia Figueroa-Gardner sat down and talked to me […]
Walking In A Child’s Shoes
When my daughter and I invited one of our new families to come outside and garden with us, ten-year-old Raúl came to the steps with no shoes. His mother suggested he go to find them. He went upstairs to his room and appeared again at the steps of Casa de Paz in men’s dress shoes, […]
Newsletter’s Articles
Convivencia
Diane’s Corner Have you ever heard of conviviencia? The translation is ‘coexist,’ like those bumper stickers you may have seen on a car in front of you at a traffic light. The word convivencia comes from a Spanish historian, Américo Castro, who wrote in the 1940’s about a time in medieval Spain when Jews, […]
Where We’ve Been
Every one of the immigrant women we serve has been on a long journey. Well, we have too. It began simply as a dream, back in around 2013 or 2014. Several women, all from Latin America, one herself a domestic violence victim, began thinking about opening a Casa de Paz. The domestic violence victim was […]
Notable Highlights
FROM OUR FIRST 20 MONTHS Opened Doors, January 20, 2020 Renovated Living Space for 5 Families Obtained Necessary Furnishing, Clothing and Food Housed and/or Served 24 Women Housed and/or Served 41 Children “Graduated” 11 Families to Safer, Saner Independent Lives Provided Help to 12 Women on Protective Orders and Other Legal Issues Hired Our First […]
Our Donors and Supporters
Daphne AdamsDenyse AdamsVerjine AdanalianRichard AerniJohn M. AerniGreg & Val AerniDaniel & Kathy AerniJohn Aerni-FlessnerJacqueline AguilarGillian AhlgrenMaribel AhmedMaria Mueller AkninLiz AlexanderLaura AlexanderKathleen AlexanderLori AllenMauricio AlvarezJanice M. AmatulliNathalie AmthorMaribel AndradeDavid AndrewsSuzanne AntoinetteAngela AntonelliYousef AoaudBarbara ApplegarthIvan ArellanoMonica ArenasEvanjelina ArredondoVictor ArredondoMary Lynn AstlesMary AustingAracelia AyalaBrian BachmanMary Ann BarnhornDaniel G BeachDina B BeachTim & Jaynee BeechukGiselle BeekerCharles BellBellarmine ChapelJonathan BernsteinAndrea […]
The Human Face of Human Trafficking
The term “human trafficking” prompts images of organized criminal enterprises that buy and sell people for commercial purposes. The reality is that most victims of trafficking know their trafficker, often as a romantic partner or relative, which complicates but does not lessen the horror of their suffering. Daniela, a current Casa de Paz client, fits […]
Volunteer Extraordinaire
When Alejandra Best and I invited Margaret Singer to an interview, we knew she would have many stories to tell. Margaret is a respected member of the Casa de Paz community, having served as a social worker to Latinx immigrants for over 30 years. Driven always by a love of family and faith, her journey […]
The Least Of The Least
The Least Of The Least Sometimes when I reflect on the mission of Casa de Paz, these words from the book of Matthew come to mind, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” And my attention is drawn especially […]
Children’s Need Assessment Research at Casa de Paz
In April, three professors from Xavier University presented the results of their research to the Board of Directors of Casa de Paz. Dr. Leah Dunn, Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy, Dr. Jennifer Gibson, Associate Professor of Psychology, and Dr. Diane Ceo-DiFrancesco, Professor of Spanish and Education were assisted by Xavier student researcher Mercy Torres. In […]
Emma’s Journey
As a victim of domestic violence who was not authorized to be living in the U.S., Emma was overwhelmed. She was afraid of her husband, who had attacked and threatened her repeatedly, wielding a knife and destroying furniture in his fury, but she also held a deep-seated conviction that marriage was forever. She had no […]