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Meet Marilee Travitz of DASH Network in Fort Worth

 

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marilee Travitz.

Marilee, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
How We Started: DFW Asylum Seeker Housing Network (DASH) officially began in 2012 as a ministry of City Church in Fort Worth, TX.

Prior to 2012 its founder, Ashley Freeman, along with her newlywed husband Kurtis, opened their home to host several rounds of asylum seekers in their spare bedroom. Both are alumni of TCU. The couple began welcoming asylum seekers into their home after Ashley, then working for a refugee resettlement agency, came to realize that there were absolutely no organizations in all of DFW providing long-term housing to this overlooked segment of immigrants. Without employment authorization and the ability to provide for themselves, coupled with the total lack of available government assistance, asylum seekers were becoming homeless on the streets of Fort Worth.

After a few years of functioning as a ministry of City Church, DASH Network became a stand-alone nonprofit and received 501(c)(3) charity status effective February 8, 2017. Today DASH is able to serve up to 30 people seeking asylum (women, men and children) using a combination of rented apartments and family hosts. While we offer tertiary services, we focus on providing assistance in three main areas- housing, food and friendship. We have just two full-time employees (Executive Director and Director of Operations) and one part-time employee (Caseworker) and beyond that run almost exclusively on the donated time and energy of very dedicated volunteers who do everything from teach ESL classes to pick up milk offered by the local dairy-free of charge to taking sick residents to free local health clinics to school enrollment for the kiddos.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Not at all. This is a faith-based organization and it takes a lot of faith to get through each day. We are founded on one basic principle- Jesus was an asylum seeker, He deeply loves asylum seekers, and He expects us to do the same if we claim to follow Him. Our Mission Statement: “In response to the compassionate and welcoming love of Jesus, DASH Network exists to love asylum seekers by serving their physical and relational needs.”

In all that we do we try our best to show Christ’s love. We accept asylum seekers from all walks of life and don’t discriminate based on religion, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, etc. If you are a legitimate asylum seeker in desperate need of housing, you can be part of the DASH Family. Having residents from all over the world, different cultures, languages, can present its own set of challenges with people needing to learn how to live with each other and get along.

As with any nonprofit, especially small ones, constantly finding ways to keep the lights on is usually our main area of concern. Our funding primarily comes from friends and family, with a little bit here and there from some great local churches and businesses. We rely very heavily on prayer and even fasting, to keep dedicating this work to the Lord and seek His blessing and guidance.

There have been many times when we didn’t know where the residents’ next meals were going to come from or how we’d find enough beds for everyone. But through it, all the Lord has been faithful and provided what we need- from a mysterious delivery of a trailer full of food to families volunteering up to host, to receiving large unexpected checks in the mail. And so we press on because the need is great.

We’d love to hear more about your organization.
What do we do? We provide housing, food and friendship to eligible asylum seekers. We are a stop-gap measure while asylum seekers are going through the legal process to claim asylum. While they wait they are eligible for no government benefits and are prohibited by law from working. Asylum seekers can stay with us for the duration of their need. Once they receive their employment authorization (work permit) and social security card they are given five months to find a job, save their money, find an apartment of their own, and then graduate from the program into financially independent living. When they move out we collect furniture donations from volunteer groups to set up their apartments from top to bottom with all you’d need to move into a new place of your own.

As part of the requirements for living in the program, residents agree to be actively working on their asylum case and follow all US laws, including Immigration rulings, meet with our Caseworker once a month, volunteer in the community for a minimum of 15 hours each week, meet with their advocate (mentor) two times a month, attend monthly meetings and go to Trauma Healing Classes and ESL when needed. We gather for quarterly events (Winter Thanksgiving Potluck, Spring DASH Bash party, Summer Culture Night, Fall Fundraiser) and enjoy getting together for soccer matches.

We are most proud of the fact that we are the only nonprofit in DFW doing this work. At the moment we are the only ones that we know of in Texas providing long-term housing. Several other shelters are able to provide short and intermediate housing but we are able to do so for the extent of their need. Asylum seekers find us online and through word of mouth from all the way over in Africa. Churches reach out to us when asylum seekers come to them needing help. Other like-minded organizations around Texas reach out to us when they have reached capacity but still need to place people, attorneys getting their clients bonded out of detention centers, and immigration detention centers reach out to us when they have detainees in need of humanitarian parole release.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Ashley Freeman- DASH Founder and Chairman of the Board.

Munatsi Manyande- DASH Executive Director.

Monica Bharadwaj- DASH Director of Community Integration.

City Church- Fort Worth, TX

All of our volunteers and donors

Bill Holston at Human Rights Initiative (HRI) in Dallas- probono legal services

Mary Durbin- probono immigration attorney

Jennifer Long- Casa Marianella in Austin

Our Board of Directors. The Lord for His constant provision and oversight.

Image Credit:
Ashley Freeman by , Marilee Travitz by self, Munatsi Manyande by n/a, DASH Sign by n/a, Group Potluck Photo by Ross Reitzammer, DASH Culture Night with Monica Bharadwaj by Ross Reitzammer, DASH Culture Night Ethiopia Coffee Ceremony by Ross Reitzammer

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Sponsor Shoutout:
Laine McCandless of DFW Kid’s Directory is hosting a Summer Camp & Activities Expo on February 22nd and 29th. There will be over 40 vendors at the event, parents can meet one on one and get information about so many amazing camps all in one spot. It’s an extraordinary event and one that makes us very proud of our city. Tickets are free. Info and RSVP here: Dallas & Frisco

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