Even if you’re on a complete news and media fast, you probably know by now that the U.S. has been evacuating U.S. citizens and Afghan allies from Afghanistan. Some of those Afghans will be relocated to the U.S, perhaps to a community near you. Concerned friends have been asking me how they can help; today’s blog post is in response to that question. Although this post is specific to Colorado Springs, the information can easily be adapted to your own U.S. context.
The UNHCR works with nine voluntary agencies to resettle refugees, asylees, and special immigrant visa holders. Those agencies are:
- Church World Service
- Ethiopian Community Development Council
- Episcopal Migration Ministries
- Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society
- International Rescue Committee
- US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
- World Relief Corporation
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services is the only resettlement agency in Colorado Springs. If you live outside the Pikes Peak region, your first step will be to learn which resettlement agency(ies) work(s) in your area. The following advice comes directly from the LFS resettlement office in Colorado Springs:
1. Donating cash is the best way to help. We are accepting checks and gift cards mailed to our office. They can be designated for Afghan refugees/Refugee South. People can also donate online (lfsrm.org) but should designate their gift for Refugee South and can further designate also for Afghan Refugees & Refugee South if they’d like.
We still accept furniture and household good donations, but we can’t designate those only for Afghan refugees as we have other families arriving too and limited storage space. Please donate knowing that your gift will go to a family in need, whether Afghan or from another country.
2. Being trained and recruiting CMTs (Cultural Mentor Teams) is a big need, but we can’t guarantee placement with a family from Afghanistan. We’ve had a lot of interest and we do not know specific numbers yet. We have a lot of families from other countries arriving who also need support and so we appreciate volunteers being willing to help those who are arriving now. Trainings are held on the first Tuesday of the month at 6pm. They are online on Microsoft Teams. People can register online: Events & Trainings – Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains (lfsrm.org). When someone registers I receive an email, and I periodically add those people to the meeting invite with the link to join. This may take several days.
3. For people who want to volunteer teaching ESL, the number to call is 719-328-3001.
Right now, just registering for the volunteer training to learn more is helpful, and I can share about current volunteer opportunities. Cash or gift card donations will allow us to be the most flexible in serving Afghans when they arrive. Please allow several business days for a response, as we are getting a lot of calls. Volunteer coordination is only one part of my job, so it sometimes takes me a while to get back to people. Thank you for patience and flexibility.
Finally, LIRS has a video called “The Afghan Crisis: How to Help Our Neighbors” on Facebook Live. Watch it here: https://bit.ly/2WnDYyd
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