MIRABEL

Mirabel and her two young children had escaped drug violence and gangs in Ecuador, only to find themselves alone in New York after weeks in ICE detention camps. Separated from her husband, Mirabel needed to find food and shelter for her son and daughter while waiting for her asylum claim to be processed. She had walked miles around Brooklyn and Queens when she saw people entering a building. She followed them and found herself at THSC.

“Trinity welcomed me, listened to my story, looked at my papers…and found me the legal help I needed.” Mirabel says she found a home at Trinity. Her children feel safe here. THSC is connecting Mirabel to ESL classes and helped enroll her children in public school. Mirabel is determined to learn English and give back to THSC by volunteering.

CRYSTAL

Crystal takes two busses each month to visit THSC’s Food Pantry and shop for fresh vegetables and other healthy foods. The trip is long but worth it to eat healthy and learn about produce such as kohlrabi and kale. Diabetes runs in her family, and Crystal is determined to break that family tradition and avoid the chronic disease.

“When we grew up we had mashed potatoes, meat loaf and corn. But now I have kale, vegetables, stuff that is fresh and doesn’t come from a can,” Crystal said. Crystal thanks THSC for guiding her to try unfamiliar produce and new ways to be healthy, such as juicing. “I feel so much better after juicing vegetables. My doctor said my cholesterol was a little high, so I can look at the nutrition sheet [from THSC] and decide what I what to choose to eat, what’s healthy.”