AMITYVILLE, N.Y. — Refugees fleeing poverty and violence around the world were welcomed Wednesday to a New York state-sponsored health fair on Long Island.
The goal was to help recent immigrants achieve self-sufficiency as quickly as possible.
We’ve seen the busloads of asylum seekers and the stress its put on New York City services, but less visible are the nearly 1,000 recent arrivals on Long Island in the last year, who Catholic Charities says its helping.
“Everything, we hold their hand for about three months,” said Carmen Maquilon, of Catholic Charities of Long Island. “These are people who chose Long Island. After being in the city, then they come to Long Island.”
They often stay with family, like one Haitian woman who fled gang violence. Another woman says her mother was beaten in Guatemala for her human rights activism.
“I feel safety in this place, I feel protected,” she said.
On Long Island, their immediate need is not housing but rather navigating a new life.
The Catholic Charities health fair offered flu shots, blood pressure screening and nutrition know-how. They also showed how to properly install car seats for recent arrivals entering on humanitarian grounds from Afghanistan, Haiti, Ukraine, and Central and South America.
“We try to teach them that you have to take care of your health in a preventive way so you don’t end up in the emergency room, costing thousands and thousands of dollars,” Maquilon said. “We welcome them so that way they don’t become a burden to the receiving communities. Let’s teach them.”
The fair also offered help on how to find a job. Once on the receiving end, Ukrainian refugee Marta Hrytsai is now helping others start a new life.
“I see some kind of relief in their eyes. When they come and sign in, they hear their own language. They’re like, ‘Oh, you’re speaking Ukrainian.’ ‘Yes, I am,’” she said.
Participants were also offered free coats along with advice on how to weather a New York winter — a first for many newcomers.
According to Catholic Charities, Long Island also has had an annual stream of around 3,000 unaccompanied minors.
