KIAC NEWS
Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center
Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center
(Español abajo) KIAC Announcements As you may know, KIAC is looking for a strategic and visionary Executive Director who is passionate about KIAC’s mission to work for the well-being and empowerment of immigrants through education, advocacy and social justice. We are excited to announce that we’re working with Koya Partners on this search. This is …
(Español abajo) January Stats KIAC Activities On February 7, more than 70 members of the KIAC community convened in Olympia, to champion two pivotal pieces of legislation aimed at enhancing the lives of immigrants. These measures would extend eligibility for unemployment insurance and healthcare coverage to all residents of Washington, regardless of immigration status. This …
Español abajo On Saturday, December 9, over 900 people from different parts of our community gathered at the East Bremerton Community Gym to celebrate the season at KIAC’s Holiday Celebration for Immigrant Families! Despite the wintery weather that made an appearance, throughout the six-hour long event, over 200 families joined us to celebrate the holidays …
Continue reading “KIAC’s Holiday Celebration was a Huge Success!”
(Español Abajo) October Numbers Impact Story Diego* came to KIAC in 2016 looking for help obtaining his United States citizenship. He had already received his green card, but dreamed of becoming a U.S. citizen. When he arrived at KIAC, he met with Accredited Representative Loanne who helped him understand the process for obtaining citizenship, helped …
(Español abajo) September Numbers: Impact Story Daniela*, her six children and her partner came to Washington from their country of origin due to desperate circumstances. She and her partner were unable to find work, didn’t have enough food or money for their children, and were on the verge of becoming homeless. They faced discrimination due …
Every seat in the KIAC lobby was full yesterday! While yesterday was a busy day here at KIAC, it was not unique. Every day at KIAC is full with serving clients, but we recently expanded our Walk-in Wednesdays to include Immigration Legal Services making our Wednesday’s especially impactful. Here’s a breakdown of the fun we …
(Español abajo) Dear Friends of KIAC, On behalf of KIAC’s Board of Directors, I am writing to let you know of a leadership change here at Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center. Jayson Vega is no longer with KIAC. The Board expresses gratitude for his time and service over the last ten months. During this time of …
(Español abajo) This week is National Volunteer Week, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to highlight the 200+ incredible volunteers who make the work we do at KIAC possible. Our volunteers have a wide variety of experience and range in age from 12 to 80+. Each year, they dedicate over 11,000hours of work at KIAC. They work as …
(Español Abajo) Greetings, Friends of KIAC, Jayson has handed over this month’s Touchpoint to me! If I haven’t met you already, my name is Kim (she/her pronouns), and I work as the Development & Marketing Director here at KIAC. I joined the team in August 2021, and have enjoyed getting to know my colleagues, our …
Continue reading “KIAC’s April Touchpoint – with Guest Author, Kim!”
From the Desk of KIAC’s Executive Director Friends of KIAC, Warm greetings to you all. Since starting at KIAC last fall, I have been impressed with how collaborative this team is. None of us does this work alone, and each team member has built strong relationships with each other, and with our clients and partner …
Continue reading “KIAC’s March Touchpoint has a Guest Author!”
The New York Times recently published an expose highlighting the exploitation of migrant children working in factories, slaughterhouses, construction sites, and agriculture throughout the United States. Migrant children are coming to the U.S. in record numbers – in the last two years alone, more than 250,000 children have entered the United States by themselves. These …
Last Thursday, 64 members of KIAC’s community gathered in Olympia to advocate for two pieces of legislation that would positively impact the lives of immigrants – HB1095/SB5109 and a health equity budget proviso. As you may recall, HB1095/SB5109 would create an unemployment system for undocumented workers who currently pay into unemployment but are ineligible for …
Continue reading “Did you hear what happened last Thursday? “
On Wednesday at KIAC, immigrants and KIAC team members filled our conference room and spilled out into the hallways. Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) visited the KIAC office, meeting our clients and updating us on two current advocacy projects – Unemployment Insurance for Undocumented Workers (HB 1095/SB 5109) and the Health Equity for Immigrants bill. …
Friends of KIAC, Greetings and happy New Year! We have just ended a strong year for KIAC, in which we achieved several momentous goals. Behind this effort, there are numerous people who make this work possible. I appreciate the skill, dedication, and commitment that everyone invests in KIAC. Without our team of volunteers, staff members …
We are saddened and frustrated by the Biden Administration decision to expand the use of Title 42. This recent announcement places limits on the number of people who can seek asylum in the United States, and prohibits some immigrants from seeking their right to asylum at the U.S. border. The changes outlined in this policy …
Continue reading “Our Thoughts on the Biden Administration Expansion of Title 42”
What a FUN, FAMILY, HOLIDAY EVENT we had here at KIAC on Saturday, December 10! You, our supporters, donated slippers, craft items, blankets, books, jackets, toys and MORE to fill over 200 holiday bundles! We had 86 families come through KIAC on Saturday, December 10. There were homemade cookies, champurrado, balloon animals, face painting, story …
Warm greetings to you all! It is very special to me to address and greet you at one of the most beautiful times of the year. KIAC has undergone many changes in 2022. After years marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, KIAC has had the opportunity to reimagine ways to continue providing our services. It may …
Continue reading “From the Desk of KIAC’s Executive Director“
Over the last 8 weeks, KIAC team members assisted 1,093 individuals with applications for the WA Immigrant Relief Fund. This is a fund for immigrants in Washington state who were adversely affected by COVID-19 but who did not qualify for any pandemic relief funding due to their immigration status. 1,093 applications translates to roughly $2.9 million going into the pockets of our …
Friends of KIAC, It has been one month since I started working as the Executive Director of KIAC. I always imagined it would be a very special place to work, but after these last weeks, I can share that it is much more special than I imagined. There is no job more rewarding than serving …
Continue reading “From the Desk of KIAC’s Executive Director“
Friends of KIAC, Greetings to you all. This is the first time I have the honor of addressing each of you. My name is Jayson Vega, and I am a native of Puerto Rico. On September 19, I started working as Executive Director at Kitsap Immigrant Assistant Center, replacing Interim Executive Director Thangam Chandrasekaran, who …
Continue reading “From the Desk of KIAC’s Executive Director”