People graduating in 2011

The original Annunciation House building continues to serve as a house of hospitality for the undocumented and refugees. Because of increased border enforcement and a change in the political environment in Central America, there are fewer guests passing through the House than during the 1980s, but the population continues to average between 40 and 50 people each night.

Annunciation House has grown over the past 20 years and now staffs five houses. Casa de la Peregrina and Casa Emaus in Ciudad Juárez, México, and Annunciation House, Casa Vides, and Casa Teresa in El Paso, Texas. The work in these houses is carried out by a community of full time volunteers who make a commitment of at least one year to live and make themselves available to the poor who continually come to the doors of our houses.

Volunteers have four main areas of responsibility: guest servant shifts, being a contact person, weekly rotations, and permanent rotations. The guest servant is the person immediately responsible for the operation of the house. The House Coordinator makes a weekly schedule with each day divided into two guest servant shifts, a morning shift from 6am to 2pm, and an evening shift from 2pm to 10pm. The guest servant will find themselves answering the phone, welcoming new guests, checking on meal preparations, applying band aids to wounded people of all shapes and sizes, distributing laundry soap, or finding a spot for a recent donation. Volunteers hesitate to label any shift or day as typical or normal. Each guest, each day is new and so too each guest servant shift is a new opportunity to learn how to love and serve.

In addition to guest servant shifts, volunteers also serve as Contact Person. Each new guest welcomed into the house is assigned a Contact Person- a volunteer to work with them to clarify and resolve their situation. Each guest is asked to plan the next step in their life or journey. The house works to foster the independence, responsibility, and ability of the guests to solve their problems. A Contact Person may show a guest how to use a phone. Guests in need of medical attention are accompanied to local clinics or hospitals where health care arrangements are made. Parents of school age children are assisted to register their children in one of the neighborhood schools. Befriending, listening, questioning, suggesting, explaining, translating, thus the work of the Contact Person is defined.

IT IS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!