Tommy was our first letter writer. She asked our Chair, Martha Carlson, to attend her asylum hearing. Dr. Carlson went to Boston, stood up for Tommy, posted bond and took Tommy home. Over the last seven months, six more refugees have won release and found host families.
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While Tommy and other refugees wait for asylum, they need to be productive. The waits for ICE hearings are so long, a whole school year may be involved. Why not go to school? Asylum seekers do not have Social Security numbers. They may not work; so they have no tax records. They are not eligible for normal college scholarships.
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Our Board Members
Martha Carlson, PhD, Chair, climate change scientist, land conservationist, retired teacher, gardener.
Joan Wright, Secretary, community activist, quilter.
Lenore Higgins, Treasurer, office manager, D.L. Carlson Investment.
Margaret Porter, attorney, farmer.
Rebecca Sinkler, former NY Times book review editor, publisher of Safe Schools Stories, gardener.
Cecily Clark, poet, sculptor, retired teacher.
ABOUT US
PO Box 21 is a new and very small non-profit charity. In March 2018, we received our Certificate from the NH Secretary of State. By June, we were recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 organization. Gifts to PO Box 21 are tax deductible.
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PO Box 21 began as a mail box for immigrants and refugees who are detained in the Strafford County Jail, NH. This is a huge federal detention center for refugees found and detained in NH, Vermont, and Maine. Detainees could write for help, comfort, and friendship.
