Before being given our instructions, Pastor Chip of the Roslindale Congregational Church welcomed 225 volunteers and offered rousing introductory remarks.
Each household received an English/Spanish flyer. In the Section 8 (low-income) development at the end of the street, flyers in Haitian Creole were also posted. Some neighbor responses: “I appreciate you.” “Thank you for doing this – God bless you.” “Yes, we need to be safe.”
Via generous donations of lunch and dessert, after leafletting, team Casserly House was fortified, got to know each other better, and enjoyed each other’s company.
By Donna Stiglmeier, Director of Casserly House
Two hundred twenty-five volunteers were organized by “Roslindale Resists,” a new Coalition forming in Roslindale to distribute flyers to 10,000 households. The yellow flyers included: hotline numbers in support of immigrants (legal counsel, etc) and overall mental health support, local food pantries’ hours of operation, and organizational contact information including how folks can volunteer/donate. A Haitian woman visiting a neighbor said, “I will give this to my friend who lives here and ask her to give these flyers to her neighbors.”
In these challenging times, connecting people to information and resources is key to welcoming our neighbors! Casserly House collaborated with this new Coalition and recruited 10plus volunteers to distribute 450 flyers in our immediate area. Immigrant neighbors helped us get into nearby apartment buildings to reach even more people. Still more neighbors, leafletting in an adjacent neighborhood, joined us back at Casserly House for a delicious lunch, dessert, and hospitality generously offered by yet another group of volunteers. On March 7, Roslindale became more resilient and community strengthened! Casserly House was thrilled to be part of this effort. Thank you for all involved, on the first day of Spring-like temperatures at the cusp of brighter days!
As we set out for our Casserly House neighborhood, Adina snapped a photo of a subset of us! Go team!