“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."
- Fred Rogers
Today’s post follows my September 23 substack, “Turning the Page on Hate with Compassion.” At the end of that post, I asked:
Given that Trump and Vance will not be changing their behavior, how can we support emotional healing for Haitians and the larger community in Springfield? If you live in Ohio or know folks in Ohio who are engaged in this work, please comment with information and anecdotes, and I’ll do some online research as well.
Here are some things I’ve learned since then.
Yesterday, non-profit organization Red, Wine and Blue hosted a zoom call with 2000+ people to bring the public closer to the ongoing situation in Springfield, Ohio. Speakers in the virtual town hall included a Haitian minister who lives in Springfield, local parents, teachers and members of the nearby chapter of the NAACP. Over $90,000 was raised for the Haitian Community Help and Support Center and Springfield City School District.
Source: https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/springfield-community-members-gather-to-push-for-peace-and-support-the-haitian-migrant-communityLast night, I was on a much smaller Zoom call of folks who support one another in the use of nonviolent communication* for political conversations. One participant who lives just outside Springfield, OH mentioned how she and friends have made plans to patronize Haitian restaurants.
UPDATE 9/26: For reasons unknown to me, the local TV station that interviewed Pastor Carl Ruby has changed the video from “public” to private and the video links in this part of the article are not working at this time. Because I did not write down the name/station number/call letters of the TV station, I cannot contact them directly, but I did send email to the Central Christian Church general email address and request help in getting this fixed. Update 9/28: I received a reply from the church office manager who will try to help get this fixed. For now, I did find a link to an Associated Press article that describes some of what was in the YouTube video I watched. That article is here:
https://www.wdtn.com/news/u-s-world/ap-us-news/ap-haitians-in-ohio-find-solidarity-at-church-after-chaotic-week-of-false-pet-eating-claims/Text below is from my original post . . .
Just now, I finished watching a September 19 news interview with local Springfield pastor, Carl Ruby, of Central Christian Church. His is a small congregation. They have helped with food for those who need it and Pastor Carl invited the leader of the Haitian Community Health and Support Center, who also happens to be a friend, to worship with his congregation so others could meet him.
And one small powerful thing this congregation is doing is handing out business-size cards (printed in Creole and English) that say: ”I’m glad you’re here. Christ loves you and so do I.”
Listen to Pastor Carl describe the reaction of one teen-aged boy who received such a card. My assessment is that emotional healing was definitely beginning when the young man read the card.
I also think any neighbor in any community could adapt this idea to express support and caring for newcomers from other countries. It could be as simple as a handwritten note that says, “Welcome to our neighborhood” or “Welcome to our apartment complex.”
The full news interview with Pastor Carl Ruby is here:
Let’s continue to collect and amplify stories about compassion and support for the Haitian community in Springfield.
Final post in this series is now available: “Turning the Page on Hate with Humor”
*Nonviolent Communication in item 2 above includes not only the work of Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, but also the methods of Deep Canvassing, the Smart Politics work of Karin Tamerius, and the dialogue work of David Campt.