“I’m drawn to be someone who cares about other people and it’s other people’s lives that interest me above all else,” Cmarada explained.
Shortly after moving to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania fifteen years ago, Cmarada began purchasing properties to rent out, in addition to his psychotherapy work. This is when he found out about Hello Neighbor, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting recently resettled immigrants and refugees in the Pittsburgh area. Already being involved in the care of others, it was only natural for Cmarada to be interested in the organization and want to help after discovering them online.
“I’m interested in other people’s lives, and I care about their wellbeing,” Cmarada stated. “That’s why I love the work I do, whether I’m doing my therapy work or working with Hello Neighbor. It feels like how we ought to live our lives, so that’s why I’m involved.”
Cmarada houses a family of refugees from Afghanistan, with the help of Hello Neighbor, in an apartment building he owns.
“In the case of the family I house, they’re from Afghanistan, and the language barrier is immense, as they speak no English. The Hello Neighbor folks helped to bridge that gap, but also not just in direct translation, but also conveyed what is needed so that they can know how to appropriately pay rent. It’s been a really simple process.”
Working with Hello Neighbor has been most rewarding to Cmarada, as it allows him to indulge in his love of helping others, however there are certain aspects of his work with the organization that are more complicated than those of a regular landlord.
“There are issues with immigrants and refugees having problems with landlords, because they generally cannot pass credit and background checks, and in some cases are not documented. None of those things are really a concern for me, and I was very interested in trying to house people who were in these types of situations, and felt very sympathetic toward their situations,” Cmarada said.
Not having important information on paper is what normally poses a challenge to immigrants and refugees in need of housing in the United States, but in the case of Hello Neighbor, the organization finds ways to work around this with landlords, like Cmarada, that are understanding and wish to help. “I learned early on it means renting to people who basically don’t have a traditional background on paper: they don’t have bank accounts maybe, they don’t have credit reports, they don’t have criminal background checks, they don’t have references, they don’t have all those things. They just have a need for housing, and in the case of Hello Neighbor, they have a sponsor.”
For Cmarada, it is easy to work with Hello Neighbor, as they are both passionate about the same things.
“I very quickly came to respect and appreciate how they do very good work and are very committed, and very devoted to their clients and families that they serve. They’re very involved in people’s lives and that was reassuring to me, meaning I knew that they would be supporting, and a bridge between the refugee family and myself.”
Through working with Hello Neighbor, Cmarada has found he himself wants to do more to help refugees and immigrants settling in the Pittsburgh area. Infact, he has an entire vision of what he can do to improve their lives here.
“The building that they (the family Cmarada houses) live in has three one bedroom apartments, and I’ve told Hello Neighbor that my ambition is once the other two apartments become vacant, I’d like to fill the building entirely with refugee families. I think it would build a sense of community of people with common experiences. I think it would help diminish the social isolation of people who are new to this country, regardless of where they’ve come from,” Cmarada enthused.
In addition to this plan, he also would like to open up a free store in the Mon Valley area where he grew up. It would be full of necessities for people, “…So that meeting basic needs doesn’t take a bite out of people’s marginal family budget. I want to provide that in a dignified fashion, so that people don’t feel that they’re receiving charity, but basically just having support and their basic needs met.”
It is through this organization that he has found another way to perform what it seems he is truly meant to do in this world, with or without documents.
“Hello Neighbor is the glue that seals things and a three way bond of trust that I have with the organization and the family. That becomes, frankly, much more valuable than a bunch of paperwork.”
