Casey Revkin heard that the Department of Homeland Security had reopened the South Texas Family Residential Center to house the growing number of children being held with their parents while waiting for their immigration cases to be decided.
After some parents reported that some of their children wouldn’t even eat after finding bugs in their ‘meat mash’ and everyone became sick from the tainted drinking water, Revkin decided to do something.
Since it is run like a prison, she reached out about starting commissary accounts where she could deposit money for these needy families.
“I wanted to help fix some of that,” Revkin said. “I comfort myself with the fact that I am doing something, making these children’s lives a little easier in these horrible circumstances.”
Now she sends over $10,000 a week through her non-profit Each Step Home. The charity puts money directly into detention-center commissary accounts, helping families provide loved ones in detention with essential items such as bottled water and over-the-counter medical supplies such as nasal sprays for allergies.
“She’s a fairy godmother,” said Kristin Etter, an attorney with the Texas Immigration Law Council. “People literally could not survive in Dilley without her.”
Revkin was able to help one mother of a -year-old boy who had nothing to celebrate his birthday. She asked for a few dollars to buy him candy bars. Another family bought cookies they smashed into pieces to fashion a crude cake to mark their father’s birthday.
Under Trump, there are more children in ICE custody, so Revkin has been a lifeline for families.
Revkin regularly sends money to 67 families a week, helping a total of nearly 80 children at Dilley. She said funds for the donations come from every day people who learn about the campaign online and give small-dollar donations through her nonprofit.
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