Aurelia came to Richmond with her toddler and baby in 2019. When she talks about the immigration experience, she explains, “you left your life there in your country. Everything in your life, your professional life, your personal life… everything. You came here, you’re alone, totally alone.”
It was through the Richmond Family Friends program at FSGV that Aurelia found new connections, and that gave her a sense of belonging. “For me it was really important to be in Family Services because I found new faces, listen people who struggle with… the same thing,” says Aurelia. “This kind of program help you to recognize that you have to start again and with people around you the start will be a little bit easy.”
And she did start again. Aurelia connected with other parents and newcomers. She stopped feeling so alone and fostered new relationships with people she now considers family. Now, Aurelia volunteers her time as a mentor in the Richmond Family Friends program and passes out coupons at the farmer’s market, warmly chatting to FSGV clients and other visitors. She sees her volunteer work as “a way to be grateful” for the support she received and the difference it made for her.
At Family Services, we know that supporting a family is never really supporting just one family; it’s indirectly supporting everyone they come into contact with. When we nurture one family that naturally spreads. It empowers individuals within that family. When we help people find community and feel less alone, they pass it along and do what they can to make other people feel less alone. The impact of programs like Richmond Family Friends is something we’ll never be able to fully measure because we can never know the full reach of each amazing person like Aurelia.
“For me it was really important to be in Family Services because I found new faces, listen people who the struggle with… the same thing. This kind of program help you to recognize that you have to start again and with people around you the start will be a little bit easy.”