At first glance, the average rowhome converted into apartments on the 1600 block of Fifth Street seems just that — average. The interior is a bit lived-in, a clear sign many people have walked these halls. But two of the newest families to call this place home are happy to be grounded and, on one particular Saturday morning, were visited by a young woman who’s literally become their lifeline.
Jessi Koch enters the one-bedroom apartment with a gentle familiarity, holding the children and playfully saying, "Hi!" with a bright smile and contagious laugh.
Moo, the Burmese man who moved here in September with wife Hei Ney and children Tamlabaw, 2, and Terry, 7 months, from a Burmese refugee camp, reaches for what identification and documentation he’s received in the six weeks he’s been in the U.S. Moo, 26, and his family are one of three Burmese refugee families the nonprofit immigration legal services program Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), 2100 Arch St., has taken on as a "free case" — an instance where an entire family is relocated as refugees and are solely dependent on the agency for assistance until they become self-sufficient. The agency works on various levels of immigration, and is based in the Jewish tradition, although it assists all people.
In the short time Moo has been here, HIAS has referred him to the Jewish Employment and Vocational Service that in turn got him a job at a manufacturing company in the Northeast, enrolled him in English classes (which he presently speaks very little of) and assisted his family in their application for welfare, which they will remain on until his job brings in enough income to support them.
Before making the trip upstairs to visit the other Burmese family HIAS has relocated to the building, Koch makes sure the thermostat is working and reminds Moo to bring copies of forms when he meets with the agency the following week.
One flight up, 26-year-old Kep, wife Bawi, 32, and daughter Tu Chin, 2, who were relocated at the same time as Moo and his family, talk with Koch about the same issues. Kep pulls out a check from a federal assistance agency and asks Koch what to do with it. She readily explains and they make plans to meet when he’s off from his job in the kitchen of a local restaurant — secured by an outside agency HIAS works with — so she can escort him to deposit the funds.
Upon leaving the apartment furnished with items donated to HIAS by members of the city’s synagogues who also gave clothes to the families, she makes the day’s last stop for one more group at Sixth Street and Oregon Avenue. The 25-year-old from 16th and Montrose streets doesn’t mind running around, especially in an area she feels fits the families well.
"I like South Philly as a neighborhood to get started out in Philadelphia," she said. "Especially with it being an old immigrant neighborhood — hopefully a lot of people are sympathetic to the situation.
"This block literally has every color I could imagine hanging out with each other," she said of the Sixth and Oregon area. "There’s lots of kids running around, too. I guess that’s kind of my idealistic view of what South Philly is and it seems like it has a potential to be a nurturing environment for newcomers."
Koch came to HIAS nearly three years ago as a receptionist. When it took on the resettlement program after the Jewish Family & Children Service refocused its family-oriented social work three years ago, Koch was hired as the volunteer and outreach manager. Living in the same area as the Burmese families she’s helped relocate, she’s taken on more duties, acting as a caseworker and making weekend visits to ease the workload of the HIAS head casework manager.
"We’re funded from the Department of State to help administer the reception and placement program," she said. "We help from the moment their process is accepted abroad. Then news travels to our national office that puts calls out to see who can take what populations and how many they can take at the moment. We meet them at the airport and help them for up to 180 days until they start to feel comfortable getting around in the city on their own.
"The idea of putting everyone together [in South Philly] and collaborating with other resettlement agencies is to build a community here so they’ll have their own support network."
Koch said HIAS has settled other families in the Northeast, but never free cases. The agency isn’t contracted to offer aid after the 30-day emergency resettlement and 180 days of maintaining casework, but being "very hands-on" she said the contact won’t end. "There’s no way we’re going to stop working with them just because that’s the kind of people we have working at our office."
At the end of the contracted time, the goal is to have the families reach self-sufficiency, which Koch defined as able to afford living on their own without support from any agencies (HIAS makes arrangements and initially helps pay for their rent), being adjusted enough to get around on public transportation, with at least one family member working and one enrolled in English class.
Still, the work is not without its challenges.
"We want everything to be right for them as soon as possible and that can be really overwhelming," Koch said. "The language piece of it is definitely challenging. We’ve been lucky enough that in all three [free case] families there’s someone who speaks English and they’re definitely working on improving that."
Conversing with Moo and Kep is a slow process, with Koch often rephrasing questions to reach a mutual understanding. She listens with a patient ear and offers unspoken comfort to the men who, despite their struggle with the language, have no problem articulating their feelings for their new home.
"This country is very beautiful country," Moo said with a wide smile.
Both families chose to resettle in the U.S. after living a freedom-less life of restrictions, with Moo and his family in the Mae La refugee camp at the Thailand-Burma border, and Kep being in jail for fleeing Malaysia illegally.
"I come here, I have a freedom, education, independence. Because I live in Mae La camp I can’t go to outside," Moo said of refugees being barred from going outside the camp’s borders unless they want to face returning to Burma, where whole villages were under the constant threat of being set ablaze. The families HIAS is working with are of the ethnic minority Karen Burmese, which has been targeted for generations, especially in many of their homeland’s segregated villages.
Moo also spoke of his new neighborhood, where he is slowly adjusting.
"The orientation they get in [refugee] camps varies, so the expectations of what it’s going to be like are different," Koch said. "They get an overview of settlement in the U.S., not in Philadelphia. The difference between resettling in Philadelphia and some house in Minnesota is huge. We don’t have the whole city coming out and welcoming them at the airport and buying them a house."
Still, Koch said they are enjoying city life and she, too, is gaining from the experience.
"This family we resettled in July," she said referencing the three refugees living at Sixth and Oregon, "I would definitely consider them friends rather than clients. They were the first free case we settled, so we sort of went through this together. I feel like I have formed a really good relationship with them.
"It’s a lot of little things that you don’t think about like remembering all of the details as you’re helping somebody get acclimated. You want to do everything at once, so it’s kind of learning to take the time and it’s OK not to get everything done in the first week."
Resettling the families has strengthened Koch’s endurance and tolerance. And, just as she has to assure herself things will get done in due time, she is quick to remind Moo the same is true for him and his family.
"I have a problem with language," he said with a laugh as he tries to explain the life he fled.
"Well, you’ll take classes. You’ll learn," Koch reassured him, returning the laugh and offering one more comforting nod. "It’s OK."
