Four Venezuelan families had only recently connected with Catholic Charities of Oregon when devastating earthquakes struck the country they had fled. As they worked to rebuild their lives in Oregon after months of homelessness and uncertainty, they were suddenly consumed with worry for loved ones back home. For many, the disaster brough a painful realization that even returning to visit family one day may no longer be possible, adding another layer of grief to a journey already marked by uncertainty and few guarantees of stability.
When Lezak Shallat first met the four Venezuelan families now enrolled in Catholic Charities of Oregon’s Refugee Services program, they weren’t looking for anything extraordinary.
They wanted what most parents want — a safe place to sleep that wasn’t their car, their children in school, steady work and the chance to build a future.
Now, just weeks after beginning their new lives in Portland, the families are carrying another burden. When devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela, each rushed to contact relatives and friends in the affected areas. For some, those calls brought relief. For others, they brought heartbreak. One mother still has no word about a sister believed to have been living in one of the buildings that collapsed. Another refugee worries constantly about her husband, who was recently deported.
As the full scope of the disaster emerged, any relief was tempered by grief. Thousands were killed, injured or displaced, leaving families mourning from thousands of miles away while questioning how the response unfolded.
“They all have someone they’re worried about,” Shallat said. “Not one of them wants to return. If anything, what’s happened has only reinforced why they left and why they want a different future for their children.
A New Way to Serve
This summer marked an important milestone for Catholic Charities of Oregon’s Refugee Services program.
While CCO’s Immigration Legal Services team has long represented asylum seekers through the legal process, serving asylum seekers through Refugee Services is a newer responsibility. Recent changes to Oregon’s Extended Case Management program now allow Refugee Services to provide eligible asylum seekers with the same stabilization support offered to refugees, including housing assistance, case management and help navigating life in a new community.
The four Venezuelan families are among the first asylum-seeking clients served by Catholic Charities Refugee Services under this expanded program.
The timing couldn’t have been more critical.
The families had been staying in temporary motel shelter through a Multnomah County pilot program. As that program ended June 30, they faced another uncertain transition.
Working alongside community partners, including 211info and Our Just Future, Catholic Charities accompanied each family as they moved into more stable shelter before the eviction deadline.
“It was a lot of handholding,” Shallat said. “But it was also helping people believe they could take the next step.”
More Than Housing
Unlike many refugees, asylum seekers often arrive after months — or even years — of instability.
These four families traveled separately through multiple countries, even crossing the Darién Gap, the treacherous stretch of dense rainforest, swamps and steep mountains between Panama and Colombia, before eventually reaching the United States and, ultimately, Oregon. Their journeys began well before President Donald Trump took office for a second term. Some lived in cars. Others moved from city to city searching for safety, work and communities where they would be welcome.
That instability affects everything. Children need to enroll in school. Parents need transportation. Families need medical care. They need to learn how to use public transportation, apply for the Oregon Health Plan, obtain library cards, visit WorkSource Oregon, build résumés and begin learning English. Some simply need someone willing to accompany them to an appointment or explain how everyday systems work.
“Sometimes I’m just the bug in their ear,” Shallat said. “I’m helping them keep looking ahead.”
New Challenges for Asylum Seekers
Serving asylum seekers also presents unique challenges.
Many are navigating complex immigration cases while federal immigration policies continue to change. Access to public benefits has become increasingly uncertain, with recent federal changes reducing or eliminating SNAP eligibility for many lawfully present humanitarian immigrants who previously qualified.
That means families often rely more heavily on local nonprofits and community resources while they wait for work authorization, immigration hearings or other legal decisions.
For Catholic Charities, case management becomes much more than referrals.
It means helping families find food pantries, applying for health coverage, connecting them with workforce programs, providing bus passes, emergency grocery assistance and simply walking beside them through unfamiliar systems.
Building Toward Stability
The four families include three couples and one single mother. Together, they are raising 10 children, most of whom are school age or younger. Another baby is expected later this summer.
One mother has already found work as a hotel housekeeper. Another dreams of becoming a dental assistant. Several parents are eager to improve their English and earn additional certifications.
Like many newcomers, their goals are remarkably ordinary. They want steady jobs. A driver’s license. A permanent home. A chance for their children to succeed.
“They just want normal things,” Shallat said. “A normal life.”
Walking Alongside Families
At Catholic Charities, accompaniment has always been at the heart of our work. Sometimes that means helping someone complete paperwork. Sometimes it means celebrating a birthday with a cake. Sometimes it means bringing toys for children or driving a client to an appointment. Sometimes it means standing beside a client at an immigration appointment or introducing them to a neighborhood food pantry.
And sometimes it simply means being a trusted person during an incredibly uncertain season.
For these four families, rebuilding a life in Oregon will take time. There will be more appointments, more paperwork and more challenges ahead. But there will also be people walking alongside them every step of the way.
“They’ve crossed countries to get here,” Shallat said. “I see my job as helping them believe they can stop surviving and start planning for what’s next.”