Everyday Miracles at Casa Alitas

By Carissa Krautscheid

It was a typical Monday for Sister Irma Odabashian, who has been volunteering for the past three years at the Casa Alitas Welcome Center for migrants. She was in the laundry facility, washing blankets, towels, and bedsheets as usual, when she heard a woman wandering the halls and calling out, “Est-ce que quelqu'un parle français?” 

The volunteers primarily speak Spanish to help the migrants arriving from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, in addition to other countries such as Brazil, Haiti, Cuba, and more.  

No one knew what the woman was saying. Thankfully, Sister Irma heard this woman’s call for help and understood. She went out to the hallway where a woman in her 30s was waiting with her 4-year-old daughter.  

“I walked up to her and replied, ‘I speak French. Can I help you?’ The woman’s eyes got so big. ‘Yes please!’ she said. ‘I want to make arrangements to go to Boston where my sister lives.’” 

The young woman told Sister Irma that she was from French Guiana. She was married to a Haitian man who was still living in Haiti with their 13-year-old son. Last year, their 11-year-old daughter made her way to Florida to be with another relative. The woman left Haiti with their 4-year-old daughter, staying in refugee camps until they made their way to Mexico and then to Tucson. 

The volunteers at Casa Alitas’ help desk assist migrants with travel arrangements. A vast majority of migrants continue on to other destinations. The volunteers help contact their relatives who pay for plane or bus tickets. Catholic Community Services made an arrangement with United Airlines to obtain more reasonable airfare rates for asylum seekers. 

The volunteers contacted this woman’s sister to purchase flights to Boston. She asked, “Does the plane I’m taking stop in Florida, so my daughter can get on it?” This woman’s family is scattered. She had no idea where Boston or Florida was. When shown a map of where they’re going across the United States, the migrants’ “eyes get bigger and bigger. They’re very grateful, they always say that.” Though they have all traveled great distances from their homes, they often do not realize the sheer size of this country or the types of climates that await them in various corners of the United States. 

The woman from French Guiana was just wearing a shirt and tights. Her bare feet were shoved into old worn lace-less tennis shoes that were clearly too small for her. The little girl wore flip flops. As Sister Irma helped them prepare for their winter journey to Boston, she asked, “Do you have a coat?” No, just two shirts. No jacket or sweater. No socks, gloves, hat, scarf. No shoes or socks for the girl. The woman said, “I had a small suitcase, but at the border when they were pushing us around, I left it behind. I have one small bag.” 

Sister Irma told her that Casa Alitas has a large clothing area, where migrants can select a limited number of items to take with them. “As God will help me,” said Sister Irma, “we found a really nice warm coat and a thick hoodie. We found shoes and socks. She had no clue how cold Boston would be. She said, ‘I never asked my sister about the weather.’” 

Casa Alitas usually has backpacks to give the migrants but, because they are the most sought-after item, there were no backpacks available. “We’ve been out of them for quite a while,” said Sister Irma. That very afternoon, she went to the thrift store nearby and was lucky to find nice bags to carry their warm clothes, and a purse to carry her important papers, rather than just a folder with loose papers that could easily get lost. 

“We went back to Casa Alitas and gave her everything. She just sobbed,” said Sister Irma. “God is going with her and the Holy Spirit was working with her at that moment. I blessed her and hugged her. She just sobbed. I was so touched. It’s not my first rodeo that way, so I don’t know why this woman impacted me. 

“The whole trauma, for every single one of those really good, wonderful young people, is truthfully unimaginable. Most people don’t work with them or see them every day. We just read about migrants in the news. But when you are with them, they pull at your heart strings. That’s why these volunteers are there, giving all that they can give.” 

Almost daily, a strong force of volunteers arrives in the early morning, around 7am, to provide breakfast to the migrants who stayed overnight at Casa Alitas’ shelter. For the last month, there have been about 100 people staying each night, waiting for paperwork to be sorted out for their departure. 

Catholic Community Services elaborates on the immigration situation. “In Arizona, the Border Patrol typically turns migrants over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE provides them with documentation and orders to report to an immigration hearing. Recently, the Border Patrol began releasing some families without going through ICE. This has resulted in an increased number of families being released into the community who need our assistance. ICE or Border Patrol drops the families off at the Casa Alitas Welcome Center.” 

The volunteers prepare to serve lunch at noon, but around 10:30am, Casa Alitas hears from ICE about how many people will be dropped off that day. 

“They had planned on feeding maybe 150 people,” said Sister Irma, “but within an hour, 100 more people were due to arrive. You can’t be prepared. The flexibility required on the spot is enormous.” Volunteers racked the food pantry, opened cans, and began preparing meals for the 250 migrants at Casa Alitas.  

 

“It was like Jesus feeding the 5,000. I don’t know how we managed to feed everyone, but God provided,” said Sister Irma. “The volunteers are just incredible. They really, really are. They do it because their hearts are in it. Even for me, to experience that all the way from the laundry room is really heartwarming.” 

What motivated Sister Irma to begin volunteering at Casa Alitas? “I am an immigrant myself,” she said. “I know how difficult it is to leave what you know, to leave your food, customs, family, friends, and to start all over again.” 

Sister Irma left her home in Istanbul, Turkey, when she was 20 years old. Her family fled the government’s persecution of Christians and immigrated to France. They moved again two years later to Lebanon, until the Arab Israeli conflict forced them to flee to Canada. 

“I can relate somewhat to the emotional trauma they’re going through, even if they’re escaping violence. But the psychological trauma they’ve experienced? I can’t even begin to imagine.” 

Every day at Casa Alitas, hundreds of migrants are shown the care and consideration that is due to all of God’s beloved children. There is an immeasurable amount of human dignity to be found in a warm blanket, the opportunity to bathe and sleep in a safe place, to sit peacefully in a beautiful garden, and even to be simply looked in the eye. The migrants arrive at Casa Alitas for countless reasons, after experiencing untold trauma, but they depart restored and hopeful as they embark on the final leg of their long journey.