North East Dutchess Immigration Service: A new nonprofit, a long-standing service

North East Dutchess Immigration Service: A new nonprofit, a long-standing service

Ben York, operational coordinator, and Mark Clizbe, program director, of NEDIS discussing the program at the Millbrook Library Volunteer Day Oct. 14, 2023.

Judith O’Hara Balfe

MILLBROOK — Grace Episcopal Church began its Grace Latino Outreach (GLO) program in 2005 under the auspices of Rev. Dr. Douglas J. Fisher and members of the church, who undertook to start the program in response to an access problem: many people in the immigrant community did not know what resources were available to them or how to access what was available.

Lack of transportation and a language barrier added to the feelings of isolation that came from being in a new country, far from home and family.

GLO began by offering two programs: English as a Second Language (ESL), and instruction in basic banking, such as opening checking accounts and obtaining and using debit cards.

By 2008, Evelyn Garzetta was named coordinator of GLO; in 2011, she was named executive director.

The program became an important interface with the local immigrant population. GLO coordinated with other area programs such as Community Action Partnership, MESA Episcopal Mission in Dover, and especially with St. Thomas Church in Amenia Union, which has a food pantry and community garden among other services. They’ve also partnered with Literacy Connection, Somos la Llave del Futro, Eastern Dutchess Rural Health Network, Hudson/Sun River Health, Northeast Community Center, and Cornell Cooperative Extension.

In a region that is underserved in health, transportation and other critical services, the partnerships have been invaluable.

But often the brunt of the coordination and work fell on GLO and Garzetta. In 2018, GLO became Grace Immigrant Outreach (GIO), with the intention of broadening their support beyond the Latino immigrant community.

As services expanded, so did the need for grants and manpower; in 2022, Garzetta initiated the transformation of the church’s outreach program into a 501(c)(3), Northeast Dutchess Immigrant Service (NEDIS).

Among its charges was getting together a panel of board members. Chosen were people who were known in the community for helping others; for being committed to community; for expertise in areas of medicine, law and education; those who can and will help clientele to navigate the often complicated aspects of starting life over again in a new environment, a new language and a new culture.

The first meeting of the board of directors, required for a 501(c)(3), took place Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, at the Millerton Inn.

Present were Garzetta, and staff members Mark Clizbe, program director, and Freddie Gonzalez, and seven board members. Each of them is clear in their belief that this population deserves full membership in the community, a sense of ownership and belonging. What they give back to the community deserves no less.

Some of the areas people need help in are actually what other populations need assistance with as well, such as affordable housing and transportation. NEDIS distributes food bags from Food of Life Pantry to Mision Episcopal Santiago Apostol in Dover Plains; provides evening ESL classes in Dover, Millbrook and Pawling, and materials for students in tutoring programs; a social worker is available to help clients obtain physical and mental health services; and consultants are available to help navigate the legal system, particularly with regards to status change and asylum papers, visas, applications and other paperwork, and referrals to immigration attorneys; offers transportation to appointments at immigration court.

NEDIS’ Academic Mentoring Program provides academic instruction and educational advocacy, as well as teaching clients, among other skills, to organize their work and finances, communicate with school systems in which children are enrolled, and supports school-age clients in planning for the future, for example by making career goals or in applying to college.

NEDIS, which operates out of two offices — 12 Rymer Street in Dover, and at Grace Church, 3328 Franklin Ave., Millbrook — has been fortunate in acquiring generous donations from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Episcopal Charities, the Northeast Dutchess Fund and many others. But becoming a 501(c)(3) allows it to operate without being under the auspices of a religious order, and enables the group to apply for government grants and funding.

What will remain constant, from the first days of its start in 2008, is the caring and respect that is given, along with the expertise, to enable an immigrant population to become independent members of the community, working in partnership with a long-term population, to make this part of Dutchess County vibrant, alive, and prosperous.

Latest News

Local Pilates instructor returns home after Miami Dolphins stint

Millbrook resident Jackie Bachor hugs her horse, Dessie, during a tour of her barn and Pilates studio on Tuesday, April 21.

Photo by Graham Corrigan

MILLBROOK — Local Pilates instructor Jackie Bachor has led a career that has taken her from rural upstate New York to Miami and back again — where she is forging a new path that blends her passions for fitness and equestrianism.

Now standing in the sun-drenched studio space of True Pilates Millbrook, Bachor has found space for both. The studio doubles as a stable loft, looking down on Bachor’s horses Dessie and Sammy. When Bachor points around the space to identify Pilates equipment, it’s as if she’s naming horses. At the center of the room is the Cadillac, a raised bed with overhead bars. To the side sits the Barrel, an arced apparatus designed for optimal spinal mobility.

Keep ReadingShow less
Thai tea shop to open in former Candy-O’s space on Main Street

Kanchisar Jaradhanaiphat, left, and John Schildbach hope to open Muanjai Tea on Main Street in Millerton by June 6.

Photo by Nathan Miller

MILLERTON — The former home of Candy-O’s on Main Street will soon get new life, with a Bangkok-inspired tea shop expected to open in June.

Millerton residents John Schildbach and Kanchisar Jiradhanaiphat hope to open Muanjai Tea on June 6. The couple — who are set to be married in May — are currently securing permits to renovate the former candy store, with plans to transform the space into a Thai-inspired tea shop modeled after urban cafés, featuring an elevated atmosphere and menu.

Keep ReadingShow less
Oblong Books placed on NYS Historic Registry

New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey buys two books from Oblong Books in Millerton on Thursday, April 23, after inducting the business into the state Historic Business Preservation Registry.

Photo by Graham Corrigan

MILLERTON — Fifty-one years after Dick Hermans and Holly Nelson opened Oblong Books, the Millerton bookstore has been recognized as part of New York State history.

Following a nomination from state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, Oblong Books was added to the New York State Historic Business Preservation Registry. Hermans and his daughter and co-owner, Suzanna Hermans, celebrated the designation Thursday alongside Hinchey, North East Town Supervisor Christopher Kennan and Kathy Moser, acting commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Amenia's Arbor Day celebration

Amenia's Arbor Day celebration
Nathan Miller

A group of gardeners and community members hear Maryanne Snow-Pitts explain proper care for newly-planted tree saplings near the Harlem Valley Rail Trail in Wassaic after Snow-Pitts planted two serviceberry trees in celebration of Arbor Day on Friday, April 24.

Workforce housing subdivision awaits fire company approval
Amenia Town Hall on Route 22.
Photo by Nathan Miller

AMENIA — The proposed workforce housing subdivision on Route 22 is awaiting feedback from the Amenia Fire Company after developers added more water tanks to plans for the property.

Planning Board members discussed other outstanding questions involving the Cascade Creek workforce housing subdivision at their regular meeting on Wednesday, April 22, continuing a conservation subdivision process that began nearly a year ago.

Keep ReadingShow less
‘Vulnerable Earth’ opens at the Tremaine Gallery

Tremaine Gallery exhibit ‘Vulnerable Earth’ explores climate change in the High Arctic.

Photo by Greg Lock

“Vulnerable Earth,” on view through June 14 at the Tremaine Gallery at Hotchkiss, brings together artists who have traveled to one of the most remote regions on Earth and returned with work shaped by first-hand experience of a fragile, rapidly shifting planet, inviting viewers to sit with the tension between awe and loss, beauty and vulnerability.

Curated by Greg Lock, director of the Photography, Film and Related Media program at The Hotchkiss School, the exhibition centers on participants in The Arctic Circle, an expeditionary residency that sends artists and scientists into the High Arctic aboard a research vessel twice a year. The result is a show documenting their lived experience and what it means to stand in a place where climate change is not theoretical but visible, immediate and accelerating.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.