OUR MISSION
SOUTH DAKOTA VOICES FOR PEACE BUILDS POWER AND ENABLES HEALING IN IMMIGRANT, REFUGEE, AND MUSLIM COMMUNITIES BY AMPLIFYING THEIR VOICES AND WORKING IN SOLIDARITY WITH ALL WHO DISMANTLE BIGOTRY AND RACISM.
OUR VISION
WE IMAGINE A SOUTH DAKOTA THAT IS DIVERSE, INCLUSIVE,
AND ANTI-RACIST.
AND ANTI-RACIST.
Letter from CEO
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Medicaid Expansion
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Our outreach team spent thousands of hours canvassing and educating the community about Amendment D, which increases Medicaid eligibility to include approximately 42,500 more South Dakotans. This included distributing translated sample ballots in Spanish, Swahili, and Nepali to community members.
On the Love Your Neighbor Tour, our staff partnered with local faith leaders to visit 7 cities in SD to educate communities about the importance of Medicaid Expansion. 
Chief Operations Officer Jen Dreiske speaking at the
Love Your Neighbor Kickoff Event |
Translated sample ballots
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MILES TRAVELED ON LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR TOUR
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DOORS KNOCKED ON TO EDUCATE COMMUNITY ABOUT MEDICAID EXPANSION
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FLYERS DISTRIBUTED TO HOUSES OF WORSHIP AND COMMUNITY AREAS
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MULTILINGUAL SAMPLE BALLOTS DISTRIBUTED TO COMMUNITY
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RAPID RESPONSE
STANDING WITH UKRAINE AND OUR COMMUNITY
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Close to 100 people gathered together in March 2022 to stand in unity with our Ukrainian community members at First Congregational Church in Sioux Falls.
Free Covid-19 Test Kits were also available. Community partners First Congregational Church, First United Methodist Church, and The Multicultural Center of Sioux Falls joined in partnership with us to provide the Ukrainian community with safe spaces for discussion. |
CEO Taneeza Islam, Pastor Martell Spagnolo,
and Ukranian community advocate Alla Kureninova speaking at the rally. |
#HATE HAS NO HOME IN SOUTH DAKOTA
Neighborhood Market in Sioux Falls
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Hayder Hayyawi and Reem Alsulaimawi,
owners of the restaurant in Neighborhood Market |
Staff and volunteers cleaning up
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Employees of South Dakota Voices for Peace responded to the terrible vandalism of Neighborhood Market in December 2022. Rapid response is critical to our work at SDVFP to assure victims of crimes are brought into belonging. We are proud to have raised over $16,000 for the business and organized over 20 volunteers, including our staff and members of the Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Pagan communities. We came together to clean up the store and stand in solidarity with the owners and assure them that there is a community of support here in Sioux Falls.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
COHORTS OF COURAGE: YOUTH ADVOCATES
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In August 2020, SDVFP hosted a youth forum that inspired our first Cohorts for Courage: Youth Advocates program, where BIPOC youth from area high schools and universities came together to understand and implement strategies for social change. The culmination of the week-long intensive program was a public forum where participants presented on topics that they were passionate about and proposed solutions: health foods in schools, public transportation in Sioux Falls, and discrimination in public schools. Cohort members are committed to the social change work they developed during the program and SDVFP is continuing to support and uplift their voices. Ultimately, Cohorts of Courage: Youth Advocates is the next step to fight bigotry and racism strategically by giving Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) youth the tools and knowledge they need to make positive change in their communities.
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bystander to UPSTANDER Intervention Training
How can we support victims of hate? How can we do better for tomorrow?
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Jen Dreiske, our Chief Operations Officer, helps listeners to answer these questions in her nationally acclaimed bystander to UPSTANDER intervention training! Throughout this presentation, listeners become empowered to advocate for others by being equipped with skills to realistically disrupt incidents of discrimination and hate. Jen educates the audience on microaggressions, apathy, and strength, while sharing with us how to use courage to bring victims of bigotry back into belonging.
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LEGAL SERVICES
SUCCESSES FOR OUR RESILIENT CLIENTS
This client got approved for his Special Immigrant Juvenile Status! He is now on a path to citizenship which he will hopefully get in 4-5 years!
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This client is 7 years old. Her family was worried for her safety due to the persecution they faced in their home country because of political involvement. In this picture, CEO Taneeza Islam is learning about her dreams and how she misses her Grandmother and puppy. With our help her application towards a path to citizenship has been filed, and she will become a US Citizen In the next 7-10 years, just in time for when she starts college!
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LEGAL SERVICES
South Dakota Voices for Peace is the only organization in the state that provides free legal services and representation to immigrant survivors of crime and children in immigration court.
Our clients have come from:
Our clients now live in:
Our clients consist of:
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Our UAC clients range in age from 7-23,
and our clients who are survivors of crime are aged 6-49.
Our clients qualify for these citizenship pathways:
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Recent Legal Services Wins
14 Work Authorizations
14 Social Security
1 Prima Facie Determination
1 Asylum Approval
COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS
SUPPORTING AND EMPOWERING CLIENTS
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This year found us adding a new position to the SDVFP team: the Community Health Worker! Community Health Workers are a growing part of the workforce that act as a bridge to connect clients to the social services they need. Our Community Health Workers work directly with the legal team and clients to ensure a holistic approach to immigration where clients can realistically dream of a better future.
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Eden Liebenthal, one of our Community Health Workers
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CLIENT POPULATION:Multilingual (usually not English speakers) Not from United States Varying immigration statuses/situations Single parents Minority Groups |
SAMPLE OF SERVICES PROVIDED:Reduced fee for dental services Sliding fee referrals for doctor visits Enrollment/ re-enrollment for Medicaid Assist clients in finding volunteer opportunities |
2022 GALA
A NIGHT OF SUPPORT AND GRATITUDE
We were able to express our gratitude and engage with community members through our 2022 Peace and Justice Fundraising Gala. Through the generous support of our community, our Gala raised spirits, awareness, and over $19,000 in donations!
COURAGE AWARD WINNERS: COMMUNITY ALLIES
COURAGE IN ACTION: NITZA RUBENSTEIN
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Nitza Rubenstein was honored with the Courage in Action Award. Nitza is a longtime ally of the immigrant community. She has advocated for countless community members by helping them find furniture, translating for students and their parents, and even taking unaccompanied minors into her home and contacting us for legal services.
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PRO BONO SERVICE: MEGAN GRODE WALTERSMegan Grode Walters was the recipient of the
Pro Bono Service Award. Many of our clients have experienced psychological distress due to the trauma experienced in their home countries. Megan supports our clients by providing them with free psychological assessments. She is also able to speak Spanish, which is incredibly beneficial to many of our clients. |
ALLYSHIP: PASTOR MARTELL SPAGNOLO
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Pastor Martell Spagnolo received the Allyship Award. Martell supported our organization in an incredibly important way by providing us with a home at First Congregational Church in downtown Sioux Falls. When we outgrew our original space, Martell provided us with even more office space on the second floor! Martell is a major ally for our organization in many ways.
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J.M. KAPLAN FUND
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SD Voices for Peace gathered several BIPOC non-profit leaders in a round table discussion to help uplift their work with funders from the J.M. Kaplan fund. We were able to connect these nonprofit leaders with funders from across the state, as well as show the representatives from the J.M. Kaplan Fund around the city of Sioux Falls.
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FINANCIAL REPORT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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GALA SPONSORS
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DONORS
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Thank you to all our generous donors
for your support. |
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Hannah Catlyn, SDVFP poetry contest winner
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