Yelitza Mandujano

3/7/14
The Project Helps Casa Marianella
Under a cloudy sky, a small-statured Hispanic man in a red plaid button up gestures to two bulky
Caucasian men wearing fluorescent orange T-shirts with The Home Depot stamped diagonally
across the back.
An amputee on crutches washes his hands at an outdoor cement sink while, standing a few feet
behind him, a group of female volunteers listen intently as theyre given directions on how they
should help.
Amidst the outdoor commotion people of varying races and ethnicities constantly enter and exit
the doors of a small, one story house painted in numerous shades of green adorned with lavender
borders.
This house on 821 Gunter St. Austin, Texas is Casa Marianella, an adult shelter currently home
to 40 immigrants and asylum seekers from all regions of the world.
The residence is alive with a continuous buzz from the babble of different dialects sounding
through the orange and yellow halls. The sparsely furnished living room has a single visually
striking wall completely plastered in Polaroid pictures of past and current residents.
Casa has been a safe haven for hundreds of immigrants over 28 years. It all began when a local
Salvadorian civic leader named Ed Wendler purchased the residence in 86 to provide housing
for Central Americans trying to escape ongoing wars.
Nearly three decades have passed and Casa is now being run by full time staff members such as
Jackie Chiofalo, a Boston College graduate originally from New York, who has previous
experience working with refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers.
We provide a couple of things including emergency shelter, food, clothing and case
management. Case management encompasses taking care of their medical, mental health, legal
and social needs, says Chiofalo, pretty much giving them resources and conducting them
where they need to be.
Casa also offers a wide range of services thats consist of ESL courses, a womens work training
class and an oriental medicine clinic.
Despite the hard work that Chiofalo and her fellow staff members put in, she says it would be
difficult to get everything done without help from volunteers at Casa Marianella.
The bulky men representing Home Depot and the group of female volunteers arent always at
Casa. They were there specifically on Feb. 22
nd
as part of The Project: The University of Texas
at Austins largest day of service. It is one day of service fully run by UT volunteers that has
1,500-2,000 students participate each year.
This year it was The Projects 15
th
anniversary and their target was the East Cesar Chavez
neighborhood where the shelter is located. They provided Casa with two shifts of student
volunteers from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and workers from Home Depot that helped install brand new
gutters and renovate the outdoor area for the residents.
Im so satisfied and happy with our beautiful gutters plus the outdoor area gives our residents
space to hang out, says Chiofalo.
The best thing is the enthusiasm The Project brings to Casa, and the fact that the volunteers are
so willing to learn and ask questions to find out more about our mission statement.
Casa Marianella and its residents were not the only ones left with a lasting impression.
Annalisa Moreno and Daisy Estrada current students at UT who volunteered with The Project
were taken by surprise at the residents openness. Both ladies were moved by their interactions
with the people at Casa and decided to return so they could volunteer again.
Within the two hours we were here we built a connection to the point where he could tell us his
story and thats not something you just tell anyone especially such a traumatizing one, said
Moreno.
I think thats one of the main reasons we will come back. After a while as we were working on
the gutters they began to tell us how they ended up here and as to why they even decided to
come, says Estrada.
Its like OK he opened up and it just makes you want to come back, says Moreno you dont
want to be that person that walks through the door, leaves and never comes back.
Chiofalo, Moreno and Estrada all find working with Casa Marianellas residents rewarding and
encourage others to volunteer.
We want to continue fulfilling our mission statement of serving the immigrant population of
Austin but also use volunteers and staff to debunk any misconceptions that exist today about
immigrant culture, says Chiofalo.
I want people to know that Casa Marianella is the first home a lot of people have in America
and thats a really special thing.
Contact Information:
Jackie Chiofalo Email: volunteer@casamarianell.org
Annalisa Moreno Email: annalisa.moreno@yahoo.com
Daisy Estrada Email: daisyestrada@utexas.edu