First Friends of NJ & NY

9089650455

http://www.firstfriendsnjny.org

First Friends of New Jersey and New York is an organization of volunteers who visit people detained at the Elizabeth Detention Center (EDC), Bergen County Jail, Hudson County Correctional Facility and Delaney Detention Center. Many detainees know no one in the United States, so a First Friends visitor may be their only link to the outside. First Friends provides training sessions so prospective volunteers understand what to expect when visiting detained refugees at any of the facilities. New visitors will be matched with a more experienced visitor who will accompany them on their first visit(s). Volunteer visitors are matched with detainees who have let First Friends know that they wish to have a visitor.

Training for volunteer visitors is held on the last Monday of each month at 5:00 PM at the First Friends office, 53 South Hackensack Avenue, Kearny, NJ, 07032. Please contact Rosa Santana at 908-965-0455 or e-mail [email protected] to let us know you will be attending the training. The office is open most weekdays from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM. You can always leave a message and your call will be returned.

In addition to the visitors' program, First Friends supports those detained at the EDC and BCJ through Campaign "Stamp Out Despair". Twice a year, Stamp Out Despair provides detainees with gifts of writing materials, stamps, envelopes and cards to help them stay in contact with family and friends and to let them know there are people in the U.S. who care about their plight. It's a great project for schools, religious groups, and other organizations to get involved with.

First Friends provides community supportive case-management assistance to released asylum seekers through their post-release program. First Friends provides food, clothing, shelter, referrals for social services and legal services, accompaniment to hearings and ICE reportings among other services as needed.