A Church Ministry Raised Over US$500,000 to Buy a House. Its First Residents Had Fled Jamaica

• A Worcester, Massachusetts, church ministry bought and renovated a three-storey former group home
• The LGBT Asylum Task Force raised more than US$500,000 for the purchase and renovation
• Its first residents included two men who fled Jamaica
• The ministry covers rent and gives a US$500 monthly stipend until residents can work

A church ministry in Worcester, Massachusetts, has turned fund-raising into a permanent home for asylum seekers, according to a report carried by the Jamaica Observer. The LGBT Asylum Task Force, run under Hadwen Park Congregational Church, raised more than US$500,000 to buy and renovate a three-storey former group home on the city’s west side.

The first residents moved in over Thanksgiving weekend 2021. The furnished apartments came with towels, bed linen, cooking supplies and televisions. Among the first three residents were Alain Spyke, 26, who left Jamaica after gang harassment, and Orville Howden, 39, who fled Jamaica in October 2020 after his roommate in Montego Bay was killed. “To come into this country and have a safe space to escape all the hardships and trauma? Not everyone has that opportunity,” Spyke said.

The ministry began in 2008 to help a single Jamaican immigrant. Pastor Judith Hanlon co-founded it, and it is now directed by Al Green, himself a Jamaican immigrant who went through the programme. It was helping 21 people at the time of the report. Besides housing, it pays rent and gives a US$500 monthly stipend until residents receive work authorisation, which can take about two years. It also helps with immigration lawyers, bank accounts, health insurance and preparing for work. “We found that giving folks stability has helped them better prepare for their asylum cases,” Green said. “They know they’re in a safe place until they can get on their feet.”

Whatever readers think of the ministry’s focus, the property decision behind it is worth noting. Renting rooms for people who cannot legally work for two years is a cost that never ends. Buying and refitting a building turns donations into a lasting asset. Churches in Jamaica and the diaspora that run transitional housing, whether for deportees, care leavers, abuse survivors or the elderly, face the same choice between renting and owning. Owning takes a large sum up front, but it gives the ministry control of the space and protection from rising rents.