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Conexión Américas today announced Catholic Charities has joined the Casa Azafrán familia.

Catholic Charities will move its South Nashville Family Resource Center, which includes nine full- and part-time employees, to Casa Azafrán. 

“The addition of Catholic Charities to Casa Azafrán truly honors our community center’s spirit of uniting nonprofit organizations striving to build a welcoming community,” said Juliana Ospina Cano, Executive Director of Casa Azafrán’s lead partner, Conexión Américas. “Immigrant families in Middle Tennessee will continue to benefit tremendously from Catholic Charities and the organizations co-located at Casa Azafrán and we look forward to increasing our reach together at a time when immigrant families face unprecedented difficulties.”

The social service arm of the Diocese of Nashville, Catholic Charities serves people of every religious, ethnic, cultural, and racial background across Middle Tennessee. At Casa Azafrán, the Catholic Charities team will provide a variety of services tailored to Hispanic and Latino families, including utility and rent assistance, food access, immigration legal services, and mental health counseling. Catholic Charities will also operate the Maternal and Infant Health Outreach Program (MIHOW), a Vanderbilt University program of peer-to-peer mentoring for expectant and new mothers, at Casa Azafrán.

“I could not be more excited to bring the Catholic Charities South Nashville team to Casa Azafrán, where we will join Conexión Américas and their other partners. Our programs perfectly complement each other, and by joining forces, we amplify our impact through a rich diversity of programs and services,” said Judy K. Orr, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of Tennessee.

Founded in 2012, Casa Azafrán stands at the gateway to Nashville’s most international and socially diverse district along Nolensville Pike. Casa Azafrán is a beautiful event space, a favorite early voting location, and home to a collective of nonprofits who offer services in education, legal, health care and the arts to immigrants, refugees, and the community as a whole.

Casa Azafrán’s mission is reflected in the multi-dimensional, multi-colored mosaic mural titled “Migration” that shines 30 feet above our front door. Our vision is also evident in our name. “Azafrán” (pronounced “ah-zah-frahn”) is saffron in English, a golden yellow-orange spice indigenous to Asia. The cultivation, and use, of saffron spans many cultures, continents and civilizations. The Spanish word “azafrán” for example, is derived from Arabic. We use the name to pay homage to our multi-ethnic heritage and to reflect our intention to be an inclusive, welcoming place for all immigrants in Nashville, many of whom speak several languages including English, Spanish and Arabic.

Funded by public and private donations and grants, Casa Azafrán, opened in December 2012 and is home to Conexión Américas and nonprofit resident partners American Muslim Advisory Council, Family and Children’s Service, Global Education Center, Justice for Our Neighbors, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and Neighborhood Health. Casa Azafrán also houses Conexión Américas’ Mesa Komal culinary incubator, which assists food entrepreneurs—immigrant and native-born—to start, and grow, their businesses. 

For more information about Catholic Charities at Casa Azafrán, please call (615) 352-3087.

While Casa Azafrán remains closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the work of each of our nonprofit partners continues, and we will be open for early voting from July 17 – August 1. 

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Conexión Américas is a Nashville-based nonprofit organization established in 2002. Our mission is to build a welcoming community and create opportunities where Latino families can belong, contribute and succeed. Every year, we assist more than 9,000 individuals and their families in their desire to start businesses, improve their English, help their children succeed in school and go to college, and become an integral part of Nashville’s social, cultural and economic vitality. Conexión Américas is the lead partner of Casa Azafrán, a nonprofit collaborative at the gateway to Nashville’s International District that is home to Conexión Américas and nine partners. Conexionamericas.org.

Catholic Charities was founded in 1962 as the social service arm of the Diocese of Nashville. The organization serves people of every religious, ethnic, cultural, and racial background in all 38 Middle Tennessee counties that comprise the Diocese of Nashville. Assisting more than 10,000 people per year, Catholic Charities provides a range of services that help clients through crises and toward self-sufficiency. Services include emergency financial assistance, counseling, job training, housing stability, hunger relief and more. Catholic Charities also manages the Tennessee Office of Refugees.