Twenty Follenites met on November 17 to learn about providing cluster housing for immigrants in need of temporary accommodations. Janet D., a member of First Parish Concord, spoke about their experience working with members from neighboring churches. In their case, five households formed a cluster and agreed mutually to a number of boundaries: age and number of people to house, how long to host a family at each household (typically one week rotations), and at what date their agreement to host the family would end. The minimum commitment a household makes is to provide space.

Approximately 10 other volunteers, who are not providing space, help with other kinds of support:

• taking the family to appointments or on outings
• getting pediatric vaccinations
• and more

A CORI review for volunteers housing families is required.

A volunteer would need to convene the group, which typically would meet twice a month via zoom. The First Parish Concord group has been working in conjunction with the Brazilian Worker Center, which was given funding to assist immigrant families who would otherwise be facing the prospect of sleeping on the streets. Most families arriving in Massachusetts are coming from Haiti or countries in Central and South America.

Depending on the interest at Follen, we could form our own housing cluster. Or we could join with the group at First Parish Concord. Or we could reach out to other congregations in town (such as First Parish Lexington) to gauge their interest. Since that meeting, we have been asked by First Parish Concord if there were 1–2 households at Follen that could join their cluster immediately. One family is going to try it out. If you think you would be interested in participating in this effort, please contact sjatteam@follen.org.