Cooperation Makes It Happen! - When the Migrant Ministry gets ready to add another family to the 23 we currently have, there are three things we need:

• Money to cover the costs of rent, food and all other expenses for a family with little to no income. It can be as much as $16,000 for one year.
• Mentors to accompany the family which can last longer than one year and can then turn into a lifelong friendship.
• Lease for a year to a family who is new to the country, does not yet have a work permit, and worries that they might be deported.

Today let us focus on this last item: the landlord. Once we find a sympathetic landlord, we try to hang on to them. We want them to be happy. We want the rent paid on time, the tenants to be model citizens, and the apartment to be kept spotless. If there is a problem we try to resolve it quickly.

Some of our landlords have several migrant tenants, some are families from the Migrant Ministry and some from other churches or nonprofits. These landlords are often migrants themselves or their parents arrived from some other country. They understand the worries of the newly arrived tenants even better than most of the mentors or donors.

We continue to look for additional landlords who will work with us. Right now we are looking for a small apartment in Melrose Park, Broadview, or Maywood. If you know of anyone, please send their contact information to [email protected].