Louisville - Site Visit 2

By Sister Julie Driscoll, SCN

October 1, 2014

The bus stopped at Americana Community Center Wednesday afternoon. The Center serves refugees and immigrants from 92 countries. They offer a range of programs including family education in the mornings and evenings.

When parents take ESL classes, their young children attend preschool or the nursery, if the little ones are 2-3 years old. After school, older children come for tutoring and help with homework. There is a teen program so effective that some students even return to Americana Community Center when they are in college to continue to be in contact with the community.

A family coach is available to help parents set goals now that they are in the U.S. and assist them in pursuing those goals. A very competent art teacher offers art for children and also has classes for women as a way to build community while sewing for their families and making items to sell. Outside, there is a large garden where a number of the people have individual plots of land.

During the Town Hall for the 100% meeting in the cafeteria, I sat at a table with women from Asia, most of whom were from Burma. Some were new citizens.

When asked how they felt about voting, one of the women explained that they were confused and scared about the voting process. They did not know what the ballot would look like or where to go and vote. The family coach plans to get a copy of the Kentucky ballot to teach these new citizens the voting procedure.