Vive’s Work
Vive typically welcomes between 1,000 and 2,000 asylum seekers from all around the world every year.
Vive’s Work
Vive typically welcomes between 1,000 and 2,000 asylum seekers from all around the world every year.
FAQ
An asylum seeker is someone who leaves their own country, due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, and who travels to another country hoping that the government will protect them and allow them to live there.
While there are similarities between asylum seekers and refugees (particularly fear of persecution in their own country), their legal statuses and journeys to the United States and Canada are different. A refugee has an official status from the United Nations upon entering the country in which they are resettled. An asylum seeker is already in a non-country of origin in which they then seek to go through the legal process of claiming asylum so they do not have to return home.
Yes, during the proceedings, asylum seekers are legally permitted to reside in the U.S. throughout the duration of their case.
The length varies greatly depending on whether a person is making a refugee claim at the Canadian border or if they are applying for U.S. asylum. Depending on wait times at the border, Vive residents who are en route to Canada may be at the shelter for a few days to a few weeks. Residents who are working on U.S. asylum cases can be in the shelter for up to two years.
All over the world.
In general, there are two types of cases at Vive. Long-term clients are working on a U.S. asylum claim. Short-term clients are working to make a refugee claim at the Canadian border. In both cases, Vive’s legal team provides assistance in gathering documents, preparing statements and applications, and scheduling appointments. Long-term clients typically work with an attorney to gather documentation and evidence that supports their claim of persecution or feared persecution. Vive’s legal team helps eligible clients get connected with immigration attorneys, often from the Volunteer Lawyers Project and Journey’s End Refugee Services, the latter of which has a staff attorney in a permanent satellite office at Vive. If you are interested in learning more about the legal process, please contact us and we’d be happy to provide additional detail.
Yes, but not immediately. Asylum seekers are generally eligible to apply for a work permit three to six months after submitting their asylum application. Work on an asylum application can take several months to complete, during which time asylum seekers are not eligible to work. Vive’s legal services team and on-site immigration attorney also help eligible residents apply for work permits.
There are only a few shelters like Vive in the entire country. Because of our proximity to the border, people wishing to make a refugee claim in Canada have been coming to Buffalo for decades. Buffalo’s traditional homeless shelters are not equipped to support the specific needs of asylum seekers, who arrive with severe trauma and major legal support needs. Vive is the only shelter in Buffalo that can appropriately serve this
population.
In 2015, Vive La Casa, an independent nonprofit organization, was acquired by Jericho Road Community Health Center. Jericho Road is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a Federally Qualified Health Center. Though Vive started as a standalone nonprofit, it now operates as a program of Jericho Road.
Your capital campaign gift is a special one-time stretch gift that can be paid out over two to three years to support the purchase and renovation of a new home for Vive. Annual gifts support our daily operations at the shelter, for expenses related to legal aid, food, medical care, staffing, and support programs, as well as daily operations across Jericho Road’s other Buffalo-based programs and international health centers. We hope our donors will consider making an additional special gift to the capital campaign, while continuing to generously invest in Jericho Road’s ongoing work in Buffalo and across the world.
FAQ
An asylum seeker is someone who leaves their own country, due to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, and who travels to another country hoping that the government will protect them and allow them to live there.
While there are similarities between asylum seekers and refugees (particularly fear of persecution in their own country), their legal statuses and journeys to the United States and Canada are different. A refugee has an official status from the United Nations upon entering the country in which they are resettled. An asylum seeker is already in a non-country of origin in which they then seek to go through the legal process of claiming asylum so they do not have to return home.
Yes, during the proceedings, asylum seekers are legally permitted to reside in the U.S. throughout the duration of their case.
The length varies greatly depending on whether a person is making a refugee claim at the Canadian border or if they are applying for U.S. asylum. Depending on wait times at the border, Vive residents who are en route to Canada may be at the shelter for a few days to a few weeks. Residents who are working on U.S. asylum cases can be in the shelter for up to two years.
All over the world.
In general, there are two types of cases at Vive. Long-term clients are working on a U.S. asylum claim. Short-term clients are working to make a refugee claim at the Canadian border. In both cases, Vive’s legal team provides assistance in gathering documents, preparing statements and applications, and scheduling appointments. Long-term clients typically work with an attorney to gather documentation and evidence that supports their claim of persecution or feared persecution. Vive’s legal team helps eligible clients get connected with immigration attorneys, often from the Volunteer Lawyers Project and Journey’s End Refugee Services, the latter of which has a staff attorney in a permanent satellite office at Vive. If you are interested in learning more about the legal process, please contact us and we’d be happy to provide additional detail.
Yes, but not immediately. Asylum seekers are generally eligible to apply for a work permit three to six months after submitting their asylum application. Work on an asylum application can take several months to complete, during which time asylum seekers are not eligible to work. Vive’s legal services team and on-site immigration attorney also help eligible residents apply for work permits.
There are only a few shelters like Vive in the entire country. Because of our proximity to the border, people wishing to make a refugee claim in Canada have been coming to Buffalo for decades. Buffalo’s traditional homeless shelters are not equipped to support the specific needs of asylum seekers, who arrive with severe trauma and major legal support needs. Vive is the only shelter in Buffalo that can appropriately serve this
population.
In 2015, Vive La Casa, an independent nonprofit organization, was acquired by Jericho Road Community Health Center. Jericho Road is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a Federally Qualified Health Center. Though Vive started as a standalone nonprofit, it now operates as a program of Jericho Road.
Your capital campaign gift is a special one-time stretch gift that can be paid out over two to three years to support the purchase and renovation of a new home for Vive. Annual gifts support our daily operations at the shelter, for expenses related to legal aid, food, medical care, staffing, and support programs, as well as daily operations across Jericho Road’s other Buffalo-based programs and international health centers. We hope our donors will consider making an additional special gift to the capital campaign, while continuing to generously invest in Jericho Road’s ongoing work in Buffalo and across the world.
ABOUT OUR FOUNDER
Myron Glick, MD, Founder and Chief Medical Officer Jericho Road Community Health Center
Dr. Myron Glick, MD, is a Board Certified Family Physician, graduate of the University of Buffalo School of Medicine, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Jericho Road Community Health Center.
He and his wife, Joyce, founded Jericho Road Family Practice (JRFP) in 1997 at 184 Barton St., Buffalo, NY, with a mission to provide excellent medical care to all who come, regardless of insurance or ability to pay.
ABOUT OUR FOUNDER
Myron Glick, MD, Founder and Chief Medical Officer Jericho Road Community Health Center
Dr. Myron Glick, MD, is a Board Certified Family Physician, graduate of the University of Buffalo School of Medicine, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Jericho Road Community Health Center.
He and his wife, Joyce, founded Jericho Road Family Practice (JRFP) in 1997 at 184 Barton St., Buffalo, NY, with a mission to provide excellent medical care to all who come, regardless of insurance or ability to pay.
VIVE BY THE NUMBERS
Vive’s current building, which was originally a school, has served its purpose but is not suited to providing shelter for thousands of people who have endured serious trauma.
