VA-ITA consortium

First Baptist Church Ashland is very active in ministering with displaced persons in Central Virginia. Together with partner churches in their vicinity they work closely with ReEstablish Richmond to connect refugees and new immigrants to the resources they need to establish roots, build community, and become self-sufficient. After a fact-finding journey to Italy to learn from Baptist churches doing the same thing there, they established a partnership with a church in Sicily. This partnership also includes a non-profit in Italy called Mediterranean Hope, which assists recently arrived refugees on the island of Lampedusa, besides other ministries. Together they are taking focus:refugees to the next level of being a learning community.