Blanca Pacheco, co-director of New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, discusses the relationship between community care and self care, the power of laughter, and the need to elevate personal stories and wholeness in an immigration system that denies resources, rights, and humanity to people of color. Blanca shares the miracles and sacrifices of her own journey, and asks: how can we respect the integrity of ourselves amidst individualism, urgency, and unjust systems?

Read the transcript of this episode.

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Blanca Pacheco is a passionate community organizer and a single mother with over 15 years of experience organizing with immigrant communities in Philadelphia. She is currently the Co-Director of New Sanctuary Movement, an interfaith immigrant justice organization which she helped found. Throughout her career she has worked on successful campaigns such as stopping collaboration between Philadelphia Police and ICE, and won Sanctuary campaigns with families fighting their final deportation orders. She is currently one of the leaders in the state of Pennsylvania fighting for Drivers Licenses for All regardless of Immigration Status.

Watch Blanca's March 2023 First Monday Lecture, "Building Sanctuary within to Build Sanctuary for Others," on Pendle Hill's YouTube channel.

The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
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The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

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