The Pro-Bono Resource Center of Maryland – Maryland Immigrant Legal Assistance Project (MILAP) partnered with the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center to run a legal clinic on April 23 at the Center's Wheaton site. The clinic offered free consultations prior to appearing at immigration court. With approximately 50 attendees, the clinic was an overwhelming success! We thank the Pro-Bono Resource Center of Maryland for providing the clinic.

On March 29, the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center hosted a delegation of human rights activists, program managers, and journalists from Spain who are participating in a program titled The Role of U.S. Society in the Integration of Immigrants, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. This was an occasion for the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center to share ideas and best practices serving multi-lingual and multi-cultural communities in the County. Jessy Mejia, Latino Liaison at the Office of Community Partnerships, participated and provided insight on how the County is organizing services for newcomer youth. We want to thank the delegation for their interest in our work as they travel across the U.S.

For more information on the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center programs and classes, visit our website at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/gilchrist/.

Montgomery County has named five individuals and organizations as recipients of the 2022 Montgomery Serves Awards, the County's highest honor for volunteerism.

The honorees are:

Learn more about the honorees here. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Wednesday evening, June 15 at the Silver Spring Civic Building. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. To register, please click here.

Free Citizenship Preparation Classes at the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center

The Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center offers free Citizenship Preparation classes online. Registration for the spring semester is now currently open! Click here for information on how to apply.

The Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC) will be scheduling in-person appointments for individuals seeking assistance with applying for Citizenship and Naturalization. The appointments will be held at the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center at the Gaithersburg Library, 18330 Montgomery Village Ave, 2nd floor. Clinics are held every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Assistance is available in many languages including Chinese, Korean, and Urdu, and there is no charge for services. You must be a lawful permanent resident to apply. To request assistance, please click here or or call the APALRC Helpline at (202) 393-3572. For additional information, visit the APALRC website. An informational flyer is available here.

HIAS Asylee Outreach Project offers free help connecting Maryland asylees (and T visa holders) with the resettlement resources and benefits available to them in the state of Maryland. Click here for more information.

Quick Topics Training - State Court Special Immigrant Juvenile Hearings and I-360 filings

Wednesday, May 18, 2022, Noon - 1:00 pm

Click here for information and registration. Deadline: Friday, May 13

Introductory Training - Representing Children in Immigration Matters

Thursday, May 19, 2022, 9:00 am -11:00 am

Click here for information and registration. Deadline: Friday, May 13

MCASA (Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault) will hold a virtual training that focuses on BIPOC Queer and Transgender sexual assault survivors. Click here for more information and to register.

MCASA's Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Training will take place in June, with

live webinars each weekday from June 6th - June 16th. The training covers introductory and advanced topics to provide a foundation for best practices for advocates in the field of sexual assault services. This training series features a combination of live webinars and self-paced learning modules. Click here to register.

The Language Access Program at Ayuda provides professionally trained, trauma-informed interpreters at no cost. Please email [email protected] with "Maryland Victims" in the subject heading to learn more and to add your organization to the list of those that will receive services.

CASA, in partnership with Montgomery County, is offering financial assistance to those who are eligible to apply for citizenship but cannot afford the application fee. Click here for more information.

African Affairs Advisory Group meets every second Thursday of the month. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday May 12 at 7:00 pm. To register for this meeting, please click here. For more information email [email protected].

Asian Pacific American Advisory Group will meet on Tuesday, May 17. If would like to attend, please email Mr. Yi Shen at [email protected].

Caribbean American Advisory Group will meet on May 3 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. The meeting will be virtual. For more information about this meeting and CAAG, please contact Rodrigue Vital, Caribbean American Liaison, [email protected].

Faith Community Advisory Group will meet on on May 18 at 7:00 pm. This is a public meeting and all are welcome to attend. Register here for this Zoom meeting.

For more information email Kate Chance at [email protected]

Latin American Advisory Group will meet on Tuesday, May 17 at 6:30 pm. The April meeting was postponed to May, and the LAAG will continue its review of best practices that have emerged in Montgomery County in response to the pandemic. Feel free to email [email protected] for more details.

LGBTQ Advisory Group will meet on May 9th from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm. The meeting will be held on Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86801452892. For more information, please contact

[email protected].

Middle Eastern American Advisory Group -- For information about the next public meeting, please contact the OCP Middle Eastern American Community Liaison.

Join the Zoom session sponsored by the Ethiopian Community Center on May 23 at 4:30 pm: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83917569436

Call-in: +1 301 715 8592 Meeting ID: 839 1756 9436

ሰላም ጤና ይስጥልኝ፤ የኢትዮጵያ ማህበረሰብ ማዕከል ባዘጋጀውና ወሲባዊ ጥቃት

እና ጉዳቱ ፡ ክፍል II በሚል ርእስ የተዘጋጀውን

ውይይት እንዲሳተፉ በአክብሮት ተጋብዘዎል::ውይይቱ

ቅዳሜ፤ አፕሪል 23,

2022 @4:30 ፒ. ኤም በቪዲዮ ዙም(Video zoom) የሚያካሂድ ሲሆን ፤ ከስር ያለውን ሊንክ በመጫን ው

ይይቱን ይከታተሉ ዘንድ ጋብዘኖታል ፡፡

በ ዙም ለመሳተፍ : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83917569436

በሰልክ ለመሳተፍ : +1 301 715 8592

የስብሰባው መለያ ቁጥር /Meeting ID: 839 1756 9436

ጥሪውን ለወዳጅ ዘመድዎ ያጋሩ

The Patcha Foundation and ICS’s HIVE program in collaboration with the Francophone African Alliance, the East County Regional Center, and other community partners will be hosting a Spring Health Fair on May 21. Please see flyer or email [email protected].

The African American Health Program will hold its annual Community Day on May 7 from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. The event will be in-person at Montgomery College, Germantown campus, Bioscience Education Center, 20200 Observation Dr, Germantown, MD 20876.

The event will kickoff with an in-person walk/run/bike activity. Community Day also will be available virtually beginning at 10:00 am. To register click here. See flyer for more information.

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. To celebrate, the Office of Community Partnership (OCP) and the Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI) will host several events:

During the rise of hate crimes against Asians last year, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) held several dialogues with Asian students. As a result, MCPS will pilot an Asian Pacific Island Desi American (APIDA) Studies program in the 2022 fall semester at Clarksburg, Richard Montgomery and Paint Branch High Schools. READ MORE.

County Executive Marc Elrich attended the Cambodian New Year celebration on April 16 at the Cambodian Buddhist Society (CBS) in Silver Spring. The County Executive paid tribute to Dr. Sovan Tun, a prominent leader of the Cambodian and Buddhist community in the Washington Metropolitan Area and extended his New Year's wishes to the community. Mr, Elrich also expressed his enthusisam for working with CBS' new leadership team. The two-day event was attended by thousands of Cambodian residents from around the region.

CAAG is currently planning its annual Caribbean American History Month. The Proclamation Day event, which will highlight the cultural richness of Caribbean countries along with the services and contributions made by Caribbean Americans to the United States, is scheduled to take place virtually on Tuesday, June 7 at 7:00 pm. The link to the event will follow in the next monthly newsletter.

In 2021 Montgomery County began a comprehensive effort to address the needs of children and their families or sponsors, and called on the partnership of MCPS, immigrant-serving nonprofits, and other community partners. Today, this collaboration provides a welcoming and guiding hand both to children in schools, and facilitates access and navigation to community resources for their families. This month, Georgetown University's Collaborative for Global Children's Issues has highlighted this Initiative. Learn more about the Bienvenidos Initiative here.

On April 4, MEAAG accepted the Arab American Heritage Month Proclamation presented by the City of Gaithersburg. For more information, please visit the City Council YouTube video (view from 4:20-6:20 minutes). In collaboration with MEAAG and the Activity Center at Bohrer Park, Ms. Samira Hussein organized a cultural exhibit about AAHM that included works of two Arab American artists.

On April 5th, a joint proclamation by the County Executive and County Council was presented in recognition of Arab American Heritage Month. Ms. Samira Hussein and Ms. Hind Alawar accepted the proclamation on behalf of the Middle Eastern American community. Click here to view photo.

The Middle Eastern American Heritiage Month celebration will be held on Saturday, May 14th from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm at the County Executive Office Building cafeteria. The public is welcome to attend this free event, which will feature wedding-themed costumes, country displays, the official MEAHM proclamation, musical performances, dancing, and Middle Eastern food. See invitation for information and more details. Register here.

Local Middle Eastern community businesses, artists and vendors are invited to exhibit free of charge at this public event, but no sales transactions are permitted. Please contact the OCP’s Middle Eastern Liaison ASAP for more information.

In collaboration with the Montgomery County Public Libraries, MEAAG's third series of virtual book talks will be held this spring. “Stories to Broaden Understanding” launched on April 19 with Bride of the Sea, the acclaimed first novel of Eman Quotah. Register here for the conversation with Ruby Namdar about The Ruined House on May 10, and here to engage with Laila el-Haddad about her latest work, The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey on June 14.

On April 9th, MEAAG’s Voter Education Initiative participated in the Islamic Center of Maryland food drive-thru. MEAAG members distributed voting materials from the League of Women voters to 200 cars, along with 100 face masks. Thanks so much to student volunteers Meekat and Mayaaz Haq for their help.

On April 5th, a joint proclamation by the County Executive and County Council was presented in recognition of Ramadan. Ms. Saba Rashid, Montgomery County Muslim Foundation President, accepted the proclamation on behalf of the Muslim community.

Eid ul-Fitr, May 2-3 | Vesak (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana), May 15 | Ascension Thursday (Western), May 26 | Memorial Day, May 30

Asian Pacific American Heritage | Older Americans | Jewish American Heritage |

Haitian Heritage | Mental Health Awareness

On May 3rd at 7:00 pm the Faith Community Town Hall will feature the Jewish Council for the Aging. Learn about JCA’s free or affordable services to help older adults and their families in your congregation. View flyer here. Register in advance here.

On May 17th at 7:00 pm the Faith Community Town Hall will feature Community Reach Montgomery County. Learn more about Community Reach of Montgomery County's various resources available to our faith community and beyond. View flyer here. Register in advance here.

Nonprofits, synagogues, churches, mosques, and other houses of worship are eligible for federal support for physical security enhancements and activities to nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of terrorist attack through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program. Additional information about the NSGP is available here. If your organization has questions or would like a letter of recommendation for its application, please contact Bart Kennedy, Grants Coordinator for Senator Van Hollen, at [email protected].

Webinars about the grant program are offered. Click here for dates.

The Faith Community Advisory hosted a town hall event partnering with Montgomery County Food Council on Tuesday April 5th. View the recorded program here.

The Faith Community Advisory hosted a town hall event on building affordable housing on house of worship property and discussing other affordable housing concerns in Montgomery County on Tuesday April 5th. View the recorded program here.

On April 9th County Executive Marc Elrich and Faith Liaison Kate Chance attended the Islamic Center of Maryland’s monthly food distribution event, helping to distribute food to hundreds of families.

On April 26th County Executive Marc Elrich and Faith Liaison Kate Chance attended a weekly food distribution hosted by Mt. Calvary Baptist Church which benefits hundreds of families in the Rockville area.

Financial Assistance for Homeowners Impacted by COVID -- The Maryland Homeowner Assistance Fund is now open to provide grants or loans for delinquent mortgage payments, past due association fees, past due real estate taxes, repairs, and energy efficiency improvements. Eligibility is based on income and COVID impact; owner occupancy is required. To learn more, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/homeowners.

Get involved with MANNA's Community Food Rescue Program.

For more information on voter registration, requesting a mail-in ballot, and voting, click here. The upcoming primary election is July 19, 2022.

Calling all creative minds! Through the Climate Action Plan, the County is hoping to lower the impact of climate change. Please send us words, phrases or a sentence that will inspire your neighbors to take action on simple climate solutions. Send us your ideas through THIS FORM. These materials are available in other languages; email [email protected]

Leadership Montgomery is accepting applications for the 2022-23 Leadership Programs: CORE, Emerging Leaders and Senior Leadership Montgomery. Click here for flyer.

Volunteer to determine funding for Adult English Literacy Classes in Montgomery County.

Lifelong Learning Courses -- Registration is open for Montgomery College Lifelong Learning Institute Non-Credit Courses. Offering Zoom and on-campus classes! 35 new classes are being offered in Spring 2022. Click here for registration information.

To submit your news and events of interest to those serving Montgomery County's emerging communities and neighbors in need, email complete details and/or a news release to the OCP Newsletter.