On April 12, Anna Rossi, president of Shelter in Peace, Inc, and chair of the Alameda Deanery Welcome the Stranger Refugee Resettlement Committee (WTS) spoke at the Rotary Club of Alameda (RCA) about the work both organizations do in helping to resettle refugees, immigrants, and low-income families.

WTS, which began in 2016, accompanies one refugee family at a time to help them achieve their independence in this country. To date, WTS has successfully accompanied seven refugee families from Afghanistan and Guatemala.

Shelter in Peace (SIP), which started in 2018, finds landlords willing to rent a unit to SIP at below market price, and SIP in turn rents that unit to refugees, immigrants, and low-income families for a period of six months to a year. SIP watches over the property to make sure it is properly cared for, the rent is timely paid, and any small maintenance issues are handled at no cost to the landlord, other than material costs.

When a family moves out, SIP cleans the unit up and readies it for the next rental family. SIP also has a rental assistance program that provides a $300 monthly rent payment to a family’s landlord for six months to help them make ends meet.

RCA and its members were interested in these social benefit projects and wanted to learn more. Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcroft was in attendance to hear Rossi’s presentation.

The city is supporting SIP by renting the organization a four-bedroom house at Alameda Point, which is now occupied by an Afghan family who left Afghanistan during the Taliban takeover. Currently, SIP is housing 30 refugees in transitional housing in Alameda and San Leandro. SIP is always on the lookout for new rental units.

For more information, visit SIP’s website at www.alamedashelterinpeace.org. RCA is located at 300 Island Dr.