As you may know, the national effort is called “National Immigrant Transit Assistance” (NITA) and the local Richmond volunteers that meet asylum seekers at the Greyhound terminal are called “Richmond Immigrant Transit Assistance (RITA). 

Richmond is one of the most important hubs as travelers come through from the border either from the west from Dallas or from a southern route through Atlanta and Raleigh. Many asylum seekers coming through Richmond are headed north to northern states such as Maryland and New York or a few even go to the Tidewater area of Virginia. Of course, some asylum seekers have Richmond as their final destination.  

RITA in Richmond is in great need of volunteers to meet asylum seekers traveling through or to Richmond.  I asked one of the lead volunteers in RITA,  Kathy Hsu Wibberly, how interested, safe people could volunteer to meet the asylum seekers on buses in Richmond.  Kathy Hsu Wibberly said that persons interested in volunteering with RITA at the Richmond Greyhound Station could do the following to sign up to learn more:1). Download the Signal App to your cell phone and text Kathy Hsu Wibberly directly at: 434.906.4960,OR2). Email:  showupforrita@gmail.com 

Although it is extremely helpful to know Spanish, it is not a requirement.  They do so much to help the asylum seekers including providing safety, helping to get them to the correct connecting bus ontime, and providing food.   So there is a great deal of teamwork that goes into this effort.