Notes from the Pastor
December 2, 2024
Beloved Community,
On November 16, 2024, Wake Up Sonoma and FCC co-hosted a powerful “Community Call to Action Town Hall” at Burlingame Hall as a way to bring the community together quickly to address the angst and grief related to the election outcome. Local leaders, nonprofits, and community members came together to share perspectives, brainstorm solutions, and begin building a collective plan to address critical issues facing our community. What follows is a synopsis of the major points addressed by the panel of speakers.
Key Take Aways and Impressions
It’s already happening. ICE has started recruiting in Sonoma County. It is assumed that anyone undocumented is at risk, even if they have documents in process. However, no one knows for sure.
Rebecca Hermosillo – Sonoma County BOS Elect, talked about how Congressman Mike Thompson is responding. She discussed identified resources and tools being used in which his office is working for advocacy. These tools include: Training people to know their rights, using the filibuster for advocacy, working with the Latino Advisory Board in a range of ways, arranging for family support for parents detained by ICE, working with the schools to support children from detained families, collaborating with North Bay Rapid Response Network for legal and trained observation of raids, and accompaniment of those seeking asylum, and making their advocacy authorization and guardianship forms more culturally competent. There were questions from the audience about how to become a sanctuary city. This is still being researched.
Leonardo Lobato, ED of La Luz Center, provides a focus on securing immediate survival needs and safety for his community including small business support, early childhood education and legal services for citizenship. He highlighted the need for volunteers and financial support as the biggest non profit in the valley serving multiple needs for the immigrant community. Something he highlighted as a struggle within the Latinx community is internal divisiveness that has put a wedge within the community between those that are immigrants without papers and those that are here legally. This is causing some very difficult conflict within the community.
Vicki Handron the only Immigration attorney in Sonoma Valley provides legal services to immigrants in the valley, including legal defense for those in immigration court. She warns that what we can expect is changes in policy for applying ICE raids through employers and in deportation processes. She encourages residents to take active steps to work with law enforcement, attend know your rights presentations, help families to come up with a plan if, for example, if a parent is deported, what will happen to the rest of the family – what is the plan. Help as you can with passport access and retain employer participation with asserting their employees’ legal rights. She also encourages there to be access to Mental Health Services for this community as they face this crisis.
Claudia Robbins from North Bay Rapid Response Network spoke about how this service has not been functioning due to lack of participation over the past few years, but recruitment for volunteers is now in full swing. Volunteers receive training on how to be a legal observer and document these encounters. They have a 24 hour hotline for people to report raids. Part of this program is the Queer Asylum Accompaniment program for queer individuals who are immigrants that are seeking asylum from harsh treatment or death for being queer in their country. Reach out at North Bay Rapid Response Network (NBRRN) | North Bay Organizing Project (NBOP) They ask you do not use the hotline number, so as to leave it free for emergencies. If you want to volunteer, , contact Claudia Robbins (Crobbins@vom.com)
Caitlin Cornwall spoke representing Sonoma Valley Collaborative, whose primary focus has been on affordable housing. This collaborative is now also focusing on the BIPOC community rights, reproductive rights, and the impact of the election on non-citizens in our community. They are forming a large collaborative of non-profit groups in the Valley who each have similar concerns for this community and want to build a safety net and proactive effort to meet the needs of the community as this unfolds.
Tyler Thompson and Gary Saperstein spoke representing the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community who are also at great risk as fall-out as the election continues. They stressed how important it is to build a community of allies. Gary pointed out that attacks against LGBTQ have surged 112% and it’s expected to only get worse. A main focus of Right Wing attacks has been against the transgender community due to the misinformation and negative rhetoric put out by the Trump Campaign. Tyler has just cofounded an LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce called Professionals With Pride (PWP) to support LGBTQ owned businesses and spoke about how this new effort is unfolding. PWP and Wake UP Sonoma will be collaborating on their efforts to support businesses in the community to be inclusive and proud of it! Gary who is the founder and owner of Out In The Vineyard in Sonoma County and a well known local LGBTQ advocate, stressed the importance of bringing the community together and build joy, and in his words – “Love Always Wins!”
Going forward, your Social Action Team will do what we can to keep you informed. Please also watch for updates to our www.wakeupsonoma.org website for ongoing population of resources and dates for action.
On this the first week of Advent, we remember there is light that outshines any darkness. Christ is that light, love is that light, you are that light.
With hope, peace, joy and love,
Curran
