Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. Domestic violence affects people in every community, regardless of age, economic status, race, religion, nationality or educational background. Domestic violence results in physical injury, psychological trauma, and sometimes death. The consequences of domestic violence can cross generations and truly last a lifetime. But those living in situations of domestic…

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Inspired by the Papal Visit

By Sr. Sheila O’Brien How inspiring last week was to hear Pope Francis repeatedly encourage us to minister to the least amongst us. How refreshing to have an entire week where our airwaves weren’t filled with constant messages from wealthy politicians denigrating the weakest, calling us to deport them. In Madison Square Garden, Pope Francis…

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A Resilient Spirit

One afternoon, while helping out at Taller de Jose’s front desk, I answered a phone call from one of our clients. While I had accompanied this particular client to previous appointments and knew her to be a friendly, outgoing and jocular individual, Raquel sounded a bit frantic on the phone. She told me that she…

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With the Hand of a Child

By Laura Camarata, summer intern With school out and summer in full swing, the number of kids we see come in our doors with their parents has increased dramatically, enlivening our small office quite a bit. But before the end of the school year, I accompanied Claudia to court. As we made our way to…

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A Ministry of Presence

Recently, Taller de José received a call from a partner agency, asking if we could accompany an individual from the far north side of Chicago to the far south side to offer support in the process of resolving an issue of child custody. The individual was a survivor of domestic violence and worried about returning…

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A Place of Welcome

By Katie Poplawski When Leticia walked into Taller, she was frantic.  Her son, she explained, was turning 18 the following week, and her application for a certificate of citizenship for him had been rejected several times.  She was afraid that if his birthday passed before he received the certificate, it would be too late.   The…

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An Orientation

By Laurie LaMarca Juana wandered into Taller de Jose after hearing about our services from a friend of her church. She was not sure Taller de Jose could be helpful, but decided to try anyway. Juana’s son was having trouble completing his immigration application for residency. Her son lived far away, in rural Illinois, and…

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