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A Brief History

Each year since its inception CASP has been growing in scale and organizational maturity. At the same time, public financial support has grown from $10,601 (2016) to $65,158 (2018).

Milestones along the way:

2016

  • Contacts were made with Central American consulates in Texas.
  • Community Asylum Seekers Project, Inc., was formed as a nonprofit.
  • Work began on creating Safe Haven – a living space for an asylum-seeking family – through the dedicated support of community members, who contributed labor, materials, and funding.

2017

  • An asylum-seeking family was welcomed to Safe Haven.
  • The Board received training by the Refugee Immigration Ministry, a well-established organization with a similar mission.
  • A volunteer case manager began working with CASP.

2018

  • Three new asylum-seeking families joined us.
  • Our first guest received employment authorization and found work.

2019

  • A fifth family joined us, hosted by a unique collaboration between a local college and the townspeople.
  • A sixth family arrived, reuniting a long-separated extended family under one roof.
  • Four more of our guests received employment authorization and found work.
  • CASP hired its first employees: a part-time Executive Director and part-time Case Manager.
  • Four families increased their independence significantly as they moved out of their host homes into their own living spaces.
  • CASP volunteers received the 2019 Unsung Heroes Award from Compassionate Brattleboro, an organization formed to foster compassion in the town of Brattleboro, VT.