From Community NSTs to the Road Ahead
Volume 3, Issue 1 | September 2026
Welcome to the third edition of The Beacon! While the sprint of emergency arrivals has shifted, the marathon of sustaining the increasingly vulnerable refugee and immigrant families already here has just begun. Thankfully, the one thing that hasn’t changed is the abundance of good people like you seeking to support their refugee and immigrant neighbors. Inside this issue, you'll see how WelcomeNST is engaging those good people to surround their neighbors with lasting support, dignity, and hope.
It's Everything: A Message from Liz
In the wake of the cancellation of TPS for Haitians, Boston has experienced an immediate and devastating impact as families have lost work authorization and are now unable to make ends meet. Still others who have a more durable legal status are terrified to leave their homes as people are being detained despite having legal status.
In the wake of the cancellation of TPS for Haitians, Boston has experienced an immediate and devastating impact as families have lost work authorization and are now unable to make ends meet.
Still others who have a more durable legal status are terrified to leave their homes as people are being detained despite having legal status.
As some of you know, several months ago, we started forming what we call “Community NSTs” in Boston in which we identify an immigrant-led church seeking support and match them with a supporting community or church that’s looking to support their immigrant neighbors, but doesn’t know how to connect. These Community NSTs have four goals:
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Provide free legal support through our partner, Immigrant Connection
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Prepare for the possibility of immigration enforcement contact through preparation playbook training
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Provide practical support such as food collection and distribution, diaper drives, and accompaniment
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Wrap around families identified by their pastors as needing individual assistance
But these goals are just the entryway to the main event. The true beauty is in the authentic mutual relationship that’s built in the process, which reaches far beyond the checklist to transform entire communities. Here are the poignant words of Pastor Louis, who leads a Haitian church in Dorchester:
“Rather than simply receiving assistance from a program, we have been able to build a genuine relationship with another pastor and congregation. During a challenging and uncertain season for our church, their willingness to support us has been meaningful both practically and spiritually. What began as one church supporting another during a time of need is developing into a genuine relationship between two congregations. We are not simply receiving support—we are building community.”
Interestingly, we later received a comment from Pastor Emmanuel’s church looking for advice as they felt they weren’t doing enough. What a beautiful reminder that showing up can feel like nothing, when in fact, it’s everything.
Important Announcements
A National NST Tour
Liz is preparing to embark on an NST Tour to meet and interview some of our NSTs across the country (in person), beginning in September! She’ll be writing a blog to shine a light on the ways in which Americans quietly continue to “welcome the stranger” across our country and to point the way for others who want to show up for their immigrant neighbors (through WelcomeNST or other awesome grassroots organizations). If you’re interested in sharing your story, please email Carol Zimmerman at czimmerman@welcomenst.org.
Bystander and Accompaniment Training in AWE
This training equips Neighborhood Support Teams to safely respond to immigration enforcement and provide accompaniment support to immigrant neighbors—covering how to recognize an ICE operation, key DOs and DON'Ts, and accompaniment basics.
WelcomeNST is Growing!
Meet our newest Regional Ambassadors in Virginia and Utah
Lima Anwari, Northern Virginia
Before her evacuation from Kabul in 2021, Lima advocated for women’s rights with UN Women and the U.S. Embassy. After arriving in the D.C. area, she helped build a program that recruited 46 mentors to connect immigrants with jobs, assisted newcomers navigating unfamiliar systems, and became a certified medical and educational interpreter. At WelcomeNST, she brings her lived experience to forming and supporting teams for families across Virginia and D.C.
Maren Daines, Salt Lake City, Utah
Holding a JD from BYU Law School, Maren brings extensive global child and family advocacy experience across local and international organizations. Driven by the transformative power of caring relationships, she works to strengthen community support systems for families at risk. In Utah, she serves as WelcomeNST’s Connect & Lift Ambassador, matching referred refugee and immigrant families with Neighborhood Support Teams for active welcoming and support.
Donor Spotlight...Maryanne Tagney and
The David Terry Jones Nation of Immigrants Project
The David Terry Jones Nation of Immigrants Project is a bold and timely initiative created by Maryanne Tagney in January 2026 to honor her husband, David Terry Jones. As immigrants themselves, David and Maryanne’s commitment to the strength, dignity, and essential contribution of immigrants in America has inspired this fund, which will carry forward his legacy by ensuring that newly arrived families are not left behind, even in this time of extreme uncertainty. This project celebrates the reality that we are and always been a nation of immigrants and keeps the work of welcome alive by enabling everyday Americans to continue to form Neighborhood Support Teams to walk alongside immigrant and refugee families who are struggling in the context of an increasingly hostile environment. Thank you, Maryanne and David for your vision, dedication and heart for "the tired, the poor, the huddled masses, yearning to breathe free!"
Five Years of Welcome: The first Annual NST Awards
On World Refugee Day, WelcomeNST honored five years of radical hospitality by presenting The David Terry Jones Nation of Immigrants NST Awards. Created through a dedicated partnership with Maryanne Tagney to honor her late husband—an immigrant from Bargoed, Wales—the ceremony celebrated ten extraordinary Neighborhood Support Teams with handcrafted replicas of the iconic town statue, the Angel of Bargoed, erected as an emblem of community sanctuary. Each replica was hand-made by Josh Myler, an NST lead and woodworker who created them in honor of David.
For WelcomeNST, the wooden Angel Awards serve as a symbol of David’s legacy and a tribute to the quiet, everyday Americans who offer refuge in their own neighborhoods.
And the 2025 NST Award Recipients are...
Team Harvard (2021)
Signed up to welcome one couple and grew to transform an entire town, supporting 36 Afghans toward intergenerational educational success.
Team Bedford Presbyterian (2021)
Exemplified the "long-haul-of-love" by supporting an Afghan family of seven for five years, providing critical legal advocacy and stability when disaster struck long after resettlement.
Team Holladay Hope (2022)
Welcomed a single Ukrainian mother and her three children after they survived weeks underground, standing by them as they turned trauma into action by raising funds and awareness for displaced families.
Team Hamilton Hoosiers (2022)
Took a leap of faith to welcome a Ukrainian family and went on to launch their own nonprofit to assist.
Team Sonyashneek (2023)
Pushed past busy schedules to say "yes," to guide a Ukrainian mother and daughter from arrival to employment, flourishing in school, and full financial self-reliance.
Team Starfish (2023)
Proved that helping one family makes a world of difference, coming together as retired volunteers to guide a Ukrainian family of four to employment, access to transportation, and financial independence in four months—building a lifelong bond.
Team Dorchester (2024)
Overcame major literacy obstacles for a Congolese family by tapping into a local Congolese church network, providing housing and culturally rooted support essential for self-reliance.
Team Worcester (2024)
Persisted through a complex paperwork process to welcome a mother and her children after 12 years in a Kenyan refugee camp, providing hands-on care to help the kids enroll in school and thrive.
Team Hoosier Wave Riders (2025)
Honored for extraordinary devotion to an Afghan family of seven, navigating legal hurdles, medical crises, and heartbreaking loss so the children never walk through grief alone.
Kathy Romeo (2021-2026)
Built an entire lifestyle around radical hospitality—integrating Afghan, Haitian, and Guatemalan families into her home and flower farm, stepping in for delivery rooms and graduations so no family walks alone.
You can Help
George W. Bush said, “The solution to each problem that confronts us begins with an individual who steps forward and says, 'I can help.”’ If you’re receiving this newsletter, you have done just that for a newly arrived family and for WelcomeNST.
Thanks to you, against all odds, we will impact more refugees and immigrants in 2026 than ever before. If you’re interested in helping out, learning more, or supporting us, here’s how: