Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz

A podcast about positive things happening in and around Washington County, Wisconsin

The Welcome Network with Laurie Wanta

• Transcript

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  [00:00:00] Fuzz Martin: Well, hi there. It’s been a while. I know. I know. I could give you some excuses, but I’m not going to. We’re here on episode 101 of Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. I am your host, Fuzz Martin, and this show is all about the positive things happening in and around you. Washington County, Wisconsin. This week I’m joined by Laurie Wanta.

  If you’re familiar with that name, there’s a good chance that either you or your child took German in the West Bend School District where she’s been a German teacher for more than 30 years. She recently started a non profit organization called The Welcome Network, which serves to welcome refugees and other displaced newcomers to the greater West Bend area.

  And with that, here are 15 minutes on The Welcome Network with Laurie Wanta on 15 Minutes with Fuzz.

  Laurie, thank you for coming in. Can you start by telling us a little bit about your background?

  [00:01:06] Laurie Wanta: Sure. Well, I’ve been a teacher in the West Bend school district for 30 years. I recently retired. I taught German and English in West Bend and some things else elsewhere, but I’m currently teaching ESL at Casa Guadalupe.

  [00:01:20] Fuzz Martin: I took German for like all throughout high school and I did Duolingo every day for a year because we have a client in Germany and I got there and then they all wanted to speak English to me and then I felt really bad that I didn’t get to use mine. So now I’m out of practice. Anyway, the, uh, You’re here to say

  [00:01:37] Laurie Wanta: Guten Morgen, at least, right?

  Guten Morgen, yes,

  [00:01:39] Fuzz Martin: exactly. So, you are here today to talk about the Welcome Network, which is a new organization here in West Bend. Could you please give us an overview about what the Welcome Network is and who it supports in the community?

  [00:01:51] Laurie Wanta: Sure. So, we are now a 501c3 non profit. We are following the teachings of Jesus that call us to welcome and serve our neighbors.

  And we are Our vision is to redeem displacement, and we just are here as a network of people. So, we’re not a center.

  [00:02:14] Fuzz Martin: Okay.

  [00:02:14] Laurie Wanta: We’re a network of volunteers.

  [00:02:16] Fuzz Martin: Okay. So, there’s not going to be a welcome network building, per se, that people come to or a welcome center or something like that.

  [00:02:22] Laurie Wanta: Maybe someday. Sure.

  But, not at this time.

  [00:02:24] Fuzz Martin: Okay, very good. And then, when you talk about displacement, how, how would you explain that? What is, uh, who, who is being displaced? And what do you see with this? You

  [00:02:33] Laurie Wanta: Yeah. So we are, we see refugees, uh, around globally, around the world. There is a, there was last year, we hit a record high of displaced peoples throughout the world, about 114 million.

  And so those are, those are, um, people who have been, you know, displaced, you know, Sort of in a way that they’re not, but not by choice, right? And so the way I came into this is that with the Afghan evacuation in 2021, there was a call for a need for people to help settle them because it was a large number of people all at once unforeseen.

  And so I responded to that. ask through my church, Kettlebrook Church, and then a few other congregations also had people responding. And so through that experience of being on a team and helping a family resettle with the help of Lutheran Social Services, by the way, they were the immigration service team.

  They were our, we were co sponsors in that regard. So they, they were the immigration, um, sort of certified with the Department of Justice. And we were just here to help them find their way. And as I, I worked with that family and over the last two years, it just shined a light on the need that’s actually already here.

  There are lots of people in our community who are from other places. And we just had this strong reaction. We came around them as with teams, it was really necessary because of all the needs they had, but a lot of people are here and they don’t have that support. And so the Welcome Network is really grew out of that.

  And I have to give a shout out to Kettlebrook because as I came up with this idea, they really encouraged me and, and, and backed us up and are basically our launch partner. And now it’s like been only six or seven months and we’re already a non profit ready to go. We’re going to launch next month.

  [00:04:34] Fuzz Martin: That’s great. And starting a non profit takes a lot of work and a lot of paperwork and talking to people and getting things in place in order to make that happen. So kudos to you and your team for making that happen. When. You talk about some of the challenges that refugees, those who are, as you said, you know, not by choice brought to another place and have to learn to pick their lives up and do all the things that we do on a daily basis.

  What are some of the challenges that they see as refugees in a new place?

  [00:05:03] Laurie Wanta: Just about everything you can think of. So healthcare, school systems. You know, jobs, even just driving because we don’t have public transportation here. I can tell just a few stories, um, finding and buying cars, right? So we’ve had a few, several people we’ve helped get driver’s licenses and that process.

  One of a woman, so two years later, someone, she just drove by herself for the first time to the food pantry and she was so excited. Her husband was sick and she did it. Even ESL classes. So we’ve just partnered with a couple of people who want to take English classes. They are signed up to take English classes, but they’re just for these barriers where they just couldn’t make it to class on a regular basis.

  And so we have a networker assigned to them to make sure that every day that the class happens that there’s just nothing in the way. So they could actually receive the services. So we partner with Casa Guadalupe. We will partner with the school district, um, the family center. They’re already providing services, but there, there are barriers to even just getting to those services.

  For example, you know, doctor’s appointments, the, our medical institutions have now great supports for language translation. Once they’re in the clinics and being with the providers, But sometimes just making the appointment, getting to the appointment, explain, calling if there’s a problem. These are things that make it really hard to navigate if you’re, if you have, if you A language or a cultural barrier.

  [00:06:39] Fuzz Martin: Yeah. I guess even just imagining yourself being dropped into the country from which they came and saying, okay, get set, set up a doctor’s appointment. And you know, how would you handle that? Uh, that’s what they’re experiencing every day, right?

  [00:06:51] Laurie Wanta: Every day, all the time. And the kids are too, they’re in the schools, but there are some things that are just unfathomable, like dress up days.

  Like they’re fun things, but like, why, why do, and what do I wear? So they’re. There’s reasons to have help for young people too, not just adults who are trying to navigate.

  [00:07:13] Fuzz Martin: Certainly. And sometimes I even ask what kind of dress up day my daughter’s having at elementary school. That’s

  [00:07:20] Laurie Wanta: right.

  [00:07:20] Fuzz Martin: It’s, uh, pajama and device day.

  That sounds like something I want. Um, So what is the, the need in our community? Is this a very, a very large need right now? Is it growing?

  [00:07:34] Laurie Wanta: So, as I said, there’s a huge number of displaced peoples in the world, and in our community, we, we received these refugees a couple of years ago, and some of them, are inviting other people to come.

  Also, in our schools, there are about 20 languages spoken. So, it tells you that we have people among us who, part of their family, maybe their whole family, needs support in this way. We are not an immigration service. We just are about believing that outsiders matter to God. And so, without going into a big sermon, you know, outsiders need to matter to us.

  And the idea is that we anticipate in the world that there will be people who will find their way to us. And, in fact, because of the pressures on the government, uh, to find places for, uh, immigrants and refugees, the government put some new programs into place to allow private citizens to bring refugees to the U.

  S., it’s called Welcome Corps, and we do, we’re not actively, so, uh, the Welcome Network isn’t actively a U. S. A. bringing people here, but we do anticipate that some people will in our area and we want to be ready to welcome them in a way that, um, is really beneficial for all of us, right? When everyone, when people come here and they feel like They’re a part of us, you know, they contribute a lot

  [00:09:15] Fuzz Martin: because

  [00:09:15] Laurie Wanta: you know, these people have a lot to offer us.

  They are beloved, really wonderful people, and they want, we want them to enrich our community. Right. And yeah, we just don’t think that they should have to struggle so much doing it.

  [00:09:29] Fuzz Martin: Great. Yeah, no, absolutely. That’s, that’s a wonderful mission and cause. Way to treat our fellow neighbors who are, are here.

  So as part of the Welcome Network, you have the Welcomers program. Can you explain what that program is, how that works, and how community members can get involved as welcomers?

  [00:09:46] Laurie Wanta: Yeah, so we’re the welcome network. So we have Welcomers and Networkers, okay. And the welcomers are on teams that will go into a home or meet with a new family and offer them a welcome basket.

  And the welcome basket will have things in it that make someone feel welcome, like we will have some items from our community, maybe some cheese or some honey, or we are working on, you know, some t shirts and a blanket or a welcome mat, something like that inside this welcome basket, but also resources.

  So we are designing calendars that we will custom create. with QR codes for people who contribute to and support and sponsor what we’re doing. So for example, you know, all of the urgent care places in West Bend, we will have a binder for the family with that information really in simple English with QR codes so that they can scan and then translate if they need to.

  We’ll have a list of all the grocery stores. We’ll have information about some city services like. Garbage pickup and shoveling expectations, things like that, that. We hope will feel to them like, wow, , this is amazing. And then we will just ask them if they’d like help

  [00:11:04] Fuzz Martin: sure.

  [00:11:04] Laurie Wanta: Navigating some of these. And with that visit, we’ll also have our eyes on, you know, what their situation is and we might get some ideas of other ways we can support them if they have small children.

  And so what we hope will grow, hope will grow out of the welcome visit. Is then a networker covenant, which means that they would willingly say, yes, I would like help with this or that task. Maybe it’s just to spend time speaking English. Maybe it’s to get a driver’s license. Mm-Hmm. , maybe. It’s, it’s a task oriented.

  And so what we do is we just get the two people together. We make sure they can communicate whatever, if it’s on a, on WhatsApp or how they plan to communicate, and then they. engage in the work of doing that, navigating that thing. Um, for example, like, as I said, like getting the ESL classes or the driver’s license.

  So that’s the NetWorker program. The NetWorker program is about, really, that’s more intensive because you’re spending time. You’re saying, you know, over the course of so many months, We will regularly be together, but that’s very, it varies, you know, depending on the task and on the time that the people have.

  So it can be tailored to your sort of season of life, the kind of time you have.

  [00:12:16] Fuzz Martin: And do you foresee some of those who like eventually down the future, some of those who are welcomed to be a part of this program as well and in terms of welcoming others who come in?

  [00:12:24] Laurie Wanta: Yeah, absolutely. In fact, if you’ve been welcomed, well.

  You really want to welcome others. It’s how, it’s what happens. And also you have language skills that you can then turn around and use, of course. So yes, we absolutely are planning to have teams of people, including recent newcomers, right? Once they feel like they’ve, they know they feel comfortable here, they’ll be able to welcome others.

  [00:12:49] Fuzz Martin: Excellent. Very good. So in order to become a welcomer, there’s some training involved, right? So what goes into the training and how do people take part in that?

  [00:12:57] Laurie Wanta: So we do have training sessions developed. We had actually internally, um, some people who are really seasoned cultural, cross cultural people. And they developed a set of three different modules that include, you know, learning about who we are and some cultural sensitivity.

  And after about three of those sessions, then you’ll be sort of certified, I guess you’d say, to be. Welcome Network. And we do a background check and just make sure everyone, you know, understands our code of conduct. And then after that, people will be able to serve.

  [00:13:36] Fuzz Martin: You have an event coming up on Saturday, February 17th at Silverbrook Middle School.

  Who should attend that event and what can they expect at that event?

  [00:13:45] Laurie Wanta: Yes, that, well, that event is, designed to both celebrate what, what has happened in the last two years with welcoming, in particular, the Afghan refugees. And so LSS will be there representing that process and to thank the people that participated at that time, but also as a, to, to tell stories of welcome so people can see what is it like to be involved in this.

  So there’ll be some video stories of welcoming, and then just. An introduction to the Welcome Network and the opportunity to learn more about the different ways someone could get involved. And so people can sign up where we hope to have some refreshments there. It’s going to be sort of a celebration, um, but the public is welcome to come and check us out.

  [00:14:32] Fuzz Martin: Awesome. Very good. And if people want to learn more about the Welcome Network or donate their time, uh, make donations, uh, provide resources, things like that. Where can they learn more?

  [00:14:44] Laurie Wanta: We do have a website. It is thewelcome. network. So if you search for it, there are a few other welcome networks around the country.

  So you just have to make sure you find us, thewelcome. network. And on the, in the website, you’ll see that there’s different ways that someone can engage, different kinds of opportunities to volunteer.

  [00:15:07] Fuzz Martin: Very good. Uh, Laurie, this is an awesome resource to have in our community, especially for those who are new to our community, whether by their choice or not.

  And uh, we really, I, I really appreciate that you’ve taken the time out of your life to make this happen and made this your mission. This is, uh, this is wonderful. So thank you. And thanks for coming on the show.

  [00:15:26] Laurie Wanta: Thanks. I just have one more thing to say. You don’t have to be an expert in other cultures to, to volunteer with the Welcome Network.

  You’re already an insider on your own culture, and that’s what we’re looking for, to share insider knowledge to newcomers.

  [00:15:43] Fuzz Martin: Wonderful. Thank you so much.

  [00:15:45] Laurie Wanta: Thank you. Bye bye.

  [00:15:49] Fuzz Martin: Thank you again to Laurie Wanta of The Welcome Network for coming on today’s episode of Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. Again, you can find more information about that organization at thewelcome. org. Network. If you have an idea for a guest for this show, please reach out. You can email me 15 with [email protected].

  That is 15. Spelled out with [email protected] 15 with [email protected] or go to fuzz.cc/guest. And fill out the form. Again, that’s fuzz. CC slash guest New episodes come out on Tuesdays. Yes, I do have a steady stream of some new episodes that will be coming your way in the next few weeks, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

  Thank you again for listening. Have a great week and I’ll chat with you next time, right here on 15 minutes with fun.