When refugees arrive in Oregon, they can be deeply traumatized and therefore afraid to move forward. Haunted by all that happened in their home countries and in refugee camps, they may choose to hide in their homes. At Catholic Charities, it’s our job to have hope for them until they can hold hope for themselves.
Ester’s story exemplifies this. She arrived here with an adult disabled son who is unable to care for himself or even be left alone for that matter. Ester worried constantly and was afraid to try anything on her own. She spoke no English. Her entire life was dedicated to caring for her son, and she refused most help.
Staff from Catholic Charities of Oregon were the only people she trusted.
Although Ester completed her 90-day service period with our agency, she still relied on her case manager to help her. Ester rarely followed up on the referrals we provided that would help her to become more self-sufficient. That wasn’t because she didn’t want to follow through, but because she was afraid.
Then she suffered an emergency, and her world came crumbling down. When the ambulance came to pick her up, they refused to allow her son to accompany her. Because of how sick she was, Ester left her son unattended.
He got out of the house on his own and went looking for her throughout their apartment complex. Something terrible could have happened to him. The apartment manager saw him and took him back to his apartment and stayed with him.
The manager called Catholic Charities and found that workers had already heard about what happened to Ester and were on the move. This all happened so fast because the workers knew of Ester’s need and had developed an emergency plan.
After locating Ester, they discovered she was being released from the hospital. They quickly picked her up and brought her back to her son.
The team then worked with Ester to accept a caregiver who could help her son and be with him if she were away. Then they developed a new plan for her to follow to make sure her son would not be left alone again.