The Willows Project
Assisting Central American refugees with food, housing, education, transportation, and connection to area services.
OUR MISSION
The Willows Project is a 501(c)(3) that works with community partners to assist Central American immigrants in northern Hamilton County. Our mission is to provide:
food security
assistance with housing and maintenance
connection to area services
transportation to critical medical and legal appointments
assistance with transitioning into the US public education system
The Willows Project developed out of the Willows Work Group, an initiative formally begun in 2015 by Springdale health commissioner Matt Clayton to improve the quality of life of low-income residents of The Willows apartment complex, including Guatemalan immigrants. This initiative continued an effort by unions such as UFCW Local 75, many of whose members lived in The Willows, as well as the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council to help immigrant workers and families organize in the face of economic exploitation and political opportunism.
The political climate has improved, but we still work to connect residents to supporting organizations and resources and collaborate with other agencies to assist directly in education, housing advocacy, transportation, and nutrition.
Currently we distribute food weekly at two apartment complexes and tutor new arrivals in Princeton High School. We aspire to expand both our material and educational efforts in the Princeton District.
EDUCATION
We've launched a pilot program to tutor refugee students in the Princeton City public school district. The public schools are the most trusted entities of the population we serve, and we share the Princeton districts goals of inclusion and equity so that all Princeton families can thrive. Community support for immigrants helps the schools, as their tight budgets don't allow them to hire enough multi-lingual educators to deal with the burgeoning immigrant student population, many of them classified as SLIFE—students with limited or interrupted formal education.
Pictured: A Princeton teacher and student.
FOOD DISTRIBUTION
The Willows Project works with Freestore Foodbank, Last Mile Food Rescue, La Soupe, Tikkun Farm, and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office to deliver free fresh produce, shelf-stable staples, and even whole meals to low-income residents of the Princeton City School District.
Each week, we deliver about 800 pounds of food directly to an average of 50 families in northern Hamilton County.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Pictured: Volunteers deliver food and clean up as boxes are emptied.
HOUSING
Central American refugees often face challenges in ensuring their rented apartments are well maintained. Flooding and slow or no response to requests for maintenance have been common in communities in southwest Ohio.
Rental management offices rarely hire Spanish speakers, and refugees may have difficulty filling out lease applications and maintenance requests in English.
The Willows Project attempts to work as a liaison between apartment management and residents to troubleshoot individual complaints and overall policies. We have successfully gone to court over unlawful evictions.
Pictured: Water main breaks left The Willows apartment complex flooded for an extended period.
SERVICES & TRANSPORT
Su Casa Hispanic Center, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, and Healthy Moms and Babes all used an apartment that was on loan to The Willows Project before COVID to work with their clients. With a space no longer available, helping with transportation is even more crucial. Lately we've taken a young man who hasn't been able to work because of illness to four appointments at Crossroads clinic downtown. We need to expand our capacity to get folks to medical, legal, and other appointments by recruiting more drivers, including bilingual ones.
Pictured: Keloni Parks of Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Libraries brings books for children to borrow.