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Moving to address the uptick in the focus to deport illegal immigrants, the Asbury Park Education Justice Collective will host a Sanctuary Workshop event 6:30 p.m. Monday at Trinity Episcopal Church.

The community-based Collective is headed by Jennifer Lewinski, Kris Hlatky, Kerry Thompson, Liza Minno, and Derek Bloom.

With a focus on creating sanctuary spaces in homes, faith communities, organizations, and businesses, the free event’s featured speakers include Ravi Ragbir, executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition of NYC, and famed human right’s advocate Rosemary A. Barbera.

Ragbir has trained numerous advocates from various immigrant and allied organizations on the impact of immigration policies, creating sanctuary spaces, and on how to accompany immigrants through the deportation process. New Sanctuary Coalition of NYC is a network of faith congregations, organizations, and individuals, who not only works to keep families facing deportation together but work against the racism, economic injustice, and abuse of immigrants. The organization works to build sanctuary spaces and helps with immigration paperwork as well as legal and/or social services agency referrals. Everything is 100% free and confidential.

Barbera, an associate professor of social work at La Salle University, is a social worker who has advocated in support of immigrants fleeing war and the violence of poverty from Latin America and Africa. She lived in Bolivia and Chile throughout the 1980’s and 90’s and has worked with various immigrant rights organizations in Philadelphia.  Her work is currently examining the role memory plays in post-dictatorship society, community resilience after a disaster, and building human rights social movements.

To register, click here and for more about the Asbury Park Education Justice Collective.

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