Resettlement re-cap: a periodic report from the Cuban Refugee Center, March 1968

              SPONSOR CUBAN REFUGEES
Fulfill Their Faith in  Freedom
MARCH   1968
RESETTLEMENT  RE-CAP
FOR   ADMINISTRATIVE   USE
A PERIODIC REPORT FROM CUBAN REFUGEE CENTER — FREEDOM TOWER, MIAMI, FLORIDA 33101
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
SOCIAL AND REHABILITATION SERVICE
U.S. CUBAN REFUGEE PROGRAM JOHN FREDERICK THOMAS, Director, Washington, D. C.
ERROL T. BALLANFONTE, Director of Center HARRY  B.  LYFORD,  Editor
LARGE FAMILIES NOT USUAL, BUT PORTLAND, ORE., CONTINUES TO HOLD LEAD IN THEIR RESETTLEMENT
From One Bedroom To Six Bedrooms Was
Welcome Change Resettlement Brought
These are the 12 members of the Efrain Gonzalez family who are
recommending Portland, Ore., to large Cuban refugee families
in need of living space and opportunities for self-support.
From a one-bedroom apartment and dishwashing jobs in Miami to
a 6-bedroom home and better work opportunities in Portland is
the welcome change that causes the family to urge:  "Come to
friendly Portland." They were claimed by a Miami relative but
a family of that size involved problems that have only been
solved by the resettlement action, under Catholic auspices.
The family arrived by airlift December 12.  Pictured are Mr.
and Mrs. Gonzalez and their children: Aleida 15, Jorge 5,
Roberto 7, Dora 9, Lourdes 10, Pedro 12, Efrain 14, Maria 16,
and Daniel 3.
37 MORE CUBAN REFUGEES IN FIVE GROUPS GO TO
NORTHWEST WITHIN FEW WEEKS
"Come out here where we are.  Don't waste time before you resettle."
That was the encouraging report from the Efrain
Gonzalez family of 12 that led to the departure for
Portland, Ore., of their relatives, the Joaquin Herrera family of six. Both came by airlift last December and both found housing and jobs in Miami unsatisfactory for large families. (Large families
are not common among the refugees.)
Then a family of seven, the Jose Villarinos, learned of the advantages found by the Gonzalez and other
Cuban refugees in Portland, and decided that city
would be better for resettlement than the eastern seaboard they first had in mind.  The same change of destination came about in the case of the Carlos Cabreras,
a family of eight.  And then when the Antonio Rodriguez
family of four headed northwest, the total of refugees
going northwest in the early weeks of 1968 came to 37
-- 10 parents and 27 children.1
All have gone, and others soon will be going to
Portland under the auspices of the U.S. Catholic Conference and the Catholic Resettlement Committee in
Portland headed by Rev. Morton Park, who has successfully specialized in the problems of large Cuban families.
All 12 of the Efrain Gonzalez family members were,
in Miami, squeezed into a one-bedroom apartment.  The
father worked in a factory for far less than needed to
feed himself, his wife and 10 children.  In Portland
they were amazed and delighted to find awaiting them a
home with six bedrooms, two marble bathrooms and conveniences that brought brightness to their new lives in
freedom.  Moreover, there were jobs for father and
mother, and part time opportunities for money-earning
by some of the children.  There were other assistances,
too, for their adjustment period.
Not only the American community in Portland has
built a reputation for welcoming Cubans; the Cuban community is putting a warm tone of enthusiasm in the Cubans- helping- Cubans movement.  A leader in this is Mrs.
Agustin Enriquez, the energetic head of the family with
10 children that for several years has called itself
"the happiest Cuban refugee family in the northwest."
Mrs. Enriquez makes it her duty to welcome personally arriving refugee families and help them in their first
adjustments to the community.  Three of her children are in college, one daughter became the Portland Rose
Festival Queen and rode in the Tournament of Roses parade last January 1 in Pasadena, Calif.
ARE YOU UPDATED ON REFUGEE PROGRAM FIGURES?
SEE 'THE SCORE1, PAGE 3
SEE OTHER STORIES ABOUT LARGE FAMILY
RESETTLEMENTS ON PAGE 4
SINCE THE 100,000th AIRLIFT REFUGEE ARRIVED MARCH 1,  AIRLIFT TOTAL HAS MOUNTED TO OVER 101,000