Manzanita House welcomes immigrants

 

Manzanita House is named after the manzanita bush that regrows after fires, symbolizing resiliency, and named "house" to say everyone is welcome.

Manzanita House's motto is "Rooted in Welcome."

In 2025, the program helped more than 1,400 people, and since it was founded in 2022, it has served people from more than 110 countries.

Manzanita House, which now has 24 employees, finds clients by word of mouth, on social media, through its website and by referrals from other organizations.

Pat Castaneda, the director of Manzanita House, grew up on Margarita Island in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela as the youngest of eight children. Her parents encouraged their children to study abroad, so Pat went to study abroad and did not come back.

She studied business management at the University of London, England, from 1997 to 2001 before she moved to Florida, where she organized events and managed apartments for tourists. She then worked 13 years in North Carolina with a nonprofit welcoming Venezuelans to Raleigh.

After moving to Spokane in 2019 with her two daughters, Pat first worked with immigrants and refugees at World Relief.

Then she co-founded Manzanita House with Sam Smith, an immigration attorney who is director of immigrant and legal aid.

Manzanita House's primary programs are to help people with immigration legal aid and overcoming barriers to settling.

Its legal assistance is free or low-cost—about a third or a fourth of normal rates. They have three attorneys and plan to hire a fourth. They also have three legal advocates—one is Department of Justice accredited.

They also offer free citizenship classes and partner with Northwest Immigration Rights Project to defend clients in removal cases with immigration courts.

To protect clients, they make sure they know that when they sign up for a driver's license, they should not register to vote until they are a citizen.

"It's confusing for someone who does not speak English well or know the system. If they register to vote it can be cause for deportation," Pat said.

Immigration legal aid is their biggest department.

Manzanita House's other programs focus on empowerment and education. Empowerment means helping clients daily with resource navigation. Educational workshops provide extended cultural orientation and support people in finding jobs.

Their Cultural Engagement and Implementation Program (CEIP) offers cultural competency training. People with lived experiences give presentations and sessions to help service providers and agency leaders serve specific immigrant communities better.

The Cultural Engagement Navigation Program offers youth after school activities to supplement what Spokane Public Schools provides with more culturally appropriate options. For example, Manzanita House supported local Afghan youth by sponsoring a free cricket team and youth volleyball with the YMCA.

For youth, Manzanita House has launched a leadership program to invite multicultural student leaders to learn of opportunities for those who study hard. Twenty-five applied for 10 multicultural youth leader openings at Spokane Public Schools.

Another program, Heritage Language Classes, strengthens the relationship of children with their parents by teaching them their heritage language and culture—Arabic, Spanish, Dari/Farsi—so they are proud of their language, know who they are and can communicate with family.

While the children are in class, parents have the option to attend teatimes and cafesitos, where they can build relationships, learn new skills, find resources and hear from local business leaders.

Pat said people are scared to attend public activities.

"Our space is safe, and we have good attendance, but we have paused putting on public events," she said. "2025 was a hard year, and we are cautious about creating public activities."

Manzanita House, however, invites organizations to come to uplift and empower immigrants and the local community on immigrant rights and how to be good allies.

Pat listed some print and online resources.

• Information on red cards/tarjetas rojas and suggestions on how immigrants and refugees can protect themselves if ICE knocks on the door is at is at Immigrant Legal Resource Center—ilrc.org/redcards.

• The Fig Tree Resource Directory is helpful because it is in print, as well as online.

• Volunteers can help educate the community on the needs of refugees and immigrants.

• People can support by contacting elected officials by phone or emails and giving testimony at local meetings and to state representatives, asking them to protect refugee and immigrant rights.

• Manzanita House has a regularly updated Know Your Rights resource page.

• Its newsletter and social media are regularly updated with resources and opportunities to support immigrants.

Pat also mentioned some bills before the state legislature.

While local officials may feel helpless to challenge ICE, there is a bill before the state legislature to require that ICE agents not wear masks. In addition, the Keep Washington Working Act would allow immigrants to keep working.

Pat noted that it is possible to give remote testimony on SB 5855, concerning the use of face coverings by law enforcement officers, and HB 2105, concerning immigrant worker protections.

For advocacy efforts, resource sharing and mutual support, Manzanita House is a member of the Eastern Washington Refugee Coalition, the Spokane Immigrant Rights Coalition and the Washington Immigration Solidarity Network.

Locally, Pat said work is always needed to improve relationships between the local community and the immigrant and refugee community.

"Although the work is hard, many people are ready to provide support and walk alongside our community," she said. "It's hard but rewarding to challenge the animosity and negative impressions some people have of immigrants and refugees.

"It's important to keep doing what we do. History shows there is a need to keep educating, empowering and advocating for rights and to make sure people know what immigrants contribute to society. Migration is important for the country," said Pat, who grew up Catholic and attends St. Ann's Parish because of its many years of advocacy for immigrants.

Although she does not speak most of the languages of the immigrants Manzanita House serves, she and staff feel the warmth of their appreciation as they relate with clients to help them meet their needs.

There is continual need to educate the community, Pat said, because animosity often comes from people who lack information and relationships.

For information, visit manzanitahousespokane.org or their social media @mhspokane.org.