Building Sanctuary Within to Build Sanctuary for Others

When immigrants arrive in the United States we face racism, poverty, brokenness, and disconnection from our cultures. The New Sanctuary Movement (NSM) of Philadelphia holds space for the community to move from this trauma to collective action and healing. Along this journey, we have learned to claim our wisdom and unique perspectives, developed new and alternative models for ways to fight for social justice, and connected our personal healing and liberation work to our community organizing.

In this lecture, Blanca Pacheco, Co-Director of NSM, will reflect on her  journey as a community organizer and share the current work of NSM. She will offer tools for reflection on our connections to immigrant experiences and our own tools of resistance to fight for justice, and will offer ways to pay attention and learn from organizing models outside of the U.S.

Leader(s)

Blanca Pacheco is a passionate community organizer, single mother, and community leader with over 15 years of experience organizing with immigrant communities in Philadelphia. She first worked in the non-profit area as a program coordinator at Open Borders Project, where she taught computer classes and coordinated education programs. As a founding New Sanctuary Movement (NSM) member, she co-created and led Know Your Rights trainings at immigrant faith congregations around Philadelphia. She has worked on storytelling projects with different immigrant communities to empower, build connections, and lift immigrant voices. As a community organizer, she has worked on successful campaigns to stop collaboration between Philadelphia Police and ICE and helped win Sanctuary campaigns for families choosing to challenge final deportation orders. She is currently one of the leaders in the state of Pennsylvania fighting for House Bill 289 for Driver’s License for All, Regardless of Immigration Status. Blanca is currently leading programs and campaigns as co-director of the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia.

Listen now to “Integrity & Wholeness: Building Sanctuary in Community,” Blanca’s episode on The Seed, Pendle Hill’s podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Travel directions to Pendle Hill. Please make sure to review our health and safety expectations at https://pendlehill.org/stay/covid-19-information/.