Posts by bcomito

By Cade Hajovsky, Fall Intern

What Is Intensive Case Management?

Not all newly arrived refugees can become self-sufficient and independent in 90 days. Many immigrants need more support. Through our Integration and Wellness department, World Relief provides case management to those struggling to get established. Case managers help clients navigate the health care system, legal resources, housing and financial management services, educational services and more. They connect clients with other agencies who provide direct services, while coaching them in accessing services and resources. The goal is to empower clients and connect them with support systems (physical, emotional, social) as they adjust to life in America.

Volunteers can be a significant help in this process by walking alongside families as they figure out their tight budgets, work on their language skills, learn the culture, and build a network of support. They often bring a wealth of experience and knowledge and still report back that they also learned and grew through the experience.

The purpose of Intensive Case Management is to offer services and help from World Relief beyond the initial 90-day resettlement program — up to 5 years after arrival. Intensive Case Management is one of three teams in the Integration & Wellness Department, which serves hundreds of clients each month.

Integration & Wellness

Andrea Simpson, Director of Integration & Wellness, has been at World Relief since 2008. She began her work as a case manager within the resettlement department, worked her way up to supervisor, and now serves on the leadership team. Within her role, Andrea oversees three teams: Intensive Case Management; Education Services and the Friendship Center/Community Ambassador Team. Intensive Case Management encompasses two programs: Preferred Communities (PC) and Promoting Refugee Integration, Mobility and Empowerment (PRIME).

PC is a program that receives federal funding and supplemental state funding. PRIME is funded by the state. Each of these programs consists of employees who work one-on-one with refugees and their families to overcome challenges. Generally, each case manager works with 10-15 clients at a time.

The time that clients stay within Intensive Case Management programs varies, but the goal is to provide support to our new community members for as long as needed. The case managers in the PC program have a 1-2 year track with a minimum of six months. In PRIME, there is no definitive timeline, a refugee could re-enroll every year until they are no longer eligible (five years). This is a rarity, however, as the purpose of Intensive Case Management is to move clients toward self-sufficiency. Long-term engagement generally only happens if there are extenuating circumstances that would cause someone to stay in PRIME for a longer amount of time, typically medical needs.

In addition to the PC and PRIME programs, Andrea also oversees the Education Center. The Education Services team launched last year and is currently hosting small group education classes on finances, computer skills, housing, and more. Morella Perez-Suels, Manager of World Relief Education Services, believes strongly in working to understand the needs of clients first and then craft educational programs to help fill the gaps.

The Friendship Center is home base of the Community Ambassador team, a program birthed during COVID which has become an invaluable means of connecting with the various immigrant groups within Spokane. Community Ambassadors are already leaders within their individual communities, so they can serve as a bridge between World Relief and the various immigrant groups — letting World Relief know about the needs their community is experiencing and relaying word about available resources back to the communities. Ambassadors help in a wide variety of roles — interpreting and translation, helping to fill out paperwork, delivering food boxes, taking children on field trips to the roller rink or Mobius, connecting families with the Farmers Markets, etc. Melissa Stipek, who oversees the Friendship Center and the Community Ambassador program, describes the Friendship Center as “the happy side of World Relief.”

“I believe for people to be able to flourish, they need to be happy. When people are happy, their mind clears, and they are open to new ideas.” — Melissa

Client Challenges

New immigrant families face a host of challenges, such as language, housing, financial management, schooling, transportation, childcare, healthcare. The first focus area of Intensive Case Management is helping families address these obstacles so that they can stabilize and not be in constant crisis. Secondly, they help refugees build a firm foundation and move forward into integration and empowerment.

The top two challenges case managers address are housing and finances.

“When families first arrive, they do not have very many options for housing as they do not have rental or credit history, which often leads to them not getting their ideal housing,” Andrea said. “Also, with housing prices going up, there have been issues with families not being able to find affordable rent.”

Families who arrive through World Relief’s resettlement programs are initially paired with the resettlement teams who diligently work to find them housing. Intensive Case managers get involved with housing later down the line and generally work with families looking for their second home, not their first home.

In addition to assisting with housing, case managers help clients budget, apply for jobs and programs, and teach them how to connect with different resources.

“Intensive Case Management is necessary because if you picked up tomorrow and moved to another country, you would have lots of lessons to learn,” Andrea said. “How do I get a phone? How do I get from here to there? How do I pay for this? What if I want to buy a house? How do I support my children? Everything you want to do, you have to learn anew.”

As soon as they arrive in the United States, refugees are learning how to navigate life in the United States, which includes the need to understand technology. The digital climate of the U.S. requires people to know how to navigate the internet and complete tasks online, such as applying for a job. For someone who has never used a computer before, this can be a very difficult transition. Through the Education Center, immigrants are learning how to navigate the online world.

Through help with housing, transportation, education and finances, the main goal of the Integration & Wellness department is to help refugees gain confidence and get to a point where they feel comfortable navigating life without as much support from World Relief.

Self-Sufficiency

The mission of World Relief is not simply to make sure a refugee is in a home and has a job; it is to walk with them until they are in a position to flourish in their new home.

“Integration and Wellness is all about empowerment,” Andrea said. This process is executed through setting goals that help refugees build stability.

While a refugee can enter into Intensive Case Management as soon as their time with the resettlement department is over, this is not normally the case.

“Everyone hits that wall, usually after they have been here for six months, where they say, ‘This is not what I expected,’” Simpson said. “’The people, the food, the housing, the job, it’s not what I expected.”
When this time comes, the Intensive Case Management team welcomes refugees with open arms and works diligently to assist them in their struggles. Stability is not built overnight; it is a process of gaining confidence, skills, and experience that lead to this sense of empowerment for refugees.

At World Relief, we never want refugees to feel alone on this journey. We work to provide them with the resources and connections they need to succeed and feel empowered, and the work of Intensive Case Management greatly contributes to this mission.

Early in the morning on February 6, massive earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria. For many of us who live thousands of miles away from the devastation, it can be hard to imagine the profound scale of loss — and even harder to know how best to respond.  

And yet, if you’re like us, your faith compels you to respond. 

At World Relief, our mission is to empower the local church to serve the most vulnerable. When natural disasters like this one occur, those who are already in vulnerable situations are put at even greater risk. By responding together, we can extend the love of Christ to those who are suffering in their greatest time of need. 

That’s why we’ve shared five things you should know about what’s happening in Turkey and Syria, why we at World Relief are responding and how you can join us in praying for and serving those who are suffering.

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1. How widespread is the impact of the earthquakes?

The earthquakes struck in the early morning hours in a region that has not experienced a major earthquake in over 200 years, leaving residents little prepared. As a result, the devastation has been widespread and severe.

At the time of writing, an estimated 36,187 have died in Turkey and more than 5,800 in Syria — and these numbers continue to rise. More than 5 million people across Syria are now in need of shelter while nearly a million more men, women and children are now homeless in Turkey as a result of the earthquakes. Basic infrastructure, including power and water, has been completely demolished in some areas.

The earthquake’s devastation is further compounded by freezing winter temperatures and, in Syria, decades of civil war have left residents especially vulnerable.

2. What are the greatest needs and how is World Relief responding?

As those impacted grapple with freezing temperatures, decimated infrastructure and profound loss and trauma, the greatest immediate needs include shelter, water, power, blankets, non-food and sanitary items and psychosocial counseling. 

World Relief is responding on the ground through long-standing, trusted partners, including Tearfund Germany and the Integral Alliance. Our partners are connected with local churches and organizations in Turkey and Syria who can more quickly deliver aid — especially in hard-to-reach regions or where international aid may be restricted by governing authorities due to protracted conflicts.

Our local partners are working especially hard to provide assistance to the most vulnerable, including the elderly, children and persons with disabilities.

Thus far, our response efforts have included: 

• Establishing mobile kitchens and distribution centers for food, water, hygiene supplies, emergency shelter, heaters, batteries, tools and more
• Operating mobile hygiene trailers that offer toilets, showers and washing machines
• Facilitating a kids club and trauma counseling center for children impacted by the disaster
• Providing mobility devices such as wheelchairs, protheses and walkers to those who need them

To stay up-to-date on how we’re responding to this and other crises around the world, sign up for our mailing list, here.

3. What will happen after the initial response?

Natural disasters on the scale of what we’re seeing in Turkey and Syria affect every facet of life. Responding immediately is essential to ensure the survival and safety of as many people as possible. At the same time, we at World Relief understand that rebuilding and restoring what has been broken — whether infrastructure or lives — takes time and commitment. 

That’s why we’re beginning conversations with our trusted partners in the region to determine how we can best come alongside local communities so that they not only survive the current crisis, but can flourish and thrive in the future. In places like Syria, which have already been wracked by unimaginable conflict and loss, this commitment is all the more important.

4. Has World Relief worked in the affected region before?

Yes! World Relief formerly had programming in both Syria and Turkey which we transferred to our partners at Tearfund Germany in 2019. We continue to have a strong relationship with Tearfund Germany, allowing us to respond quickly and effectively through our partners who are still at work in the region. 

Additionally, World Relief has been helping Syrian refugees resettle in the U.S. for over a decade. Members of the Syrian community in the U.S. have become our coworkers, neighbors and friends. We are grieving and praying alongside them at this difficult time. 

5. How can I help?

• Pray: As in all things, we first turn to prayer. Pray for those who are still missing to be found, for the injured to be healed, for the hungry to be fed, for the cold and weary to find shelter and for the grieving to be comforted. Pray also for those responding to do so with wisdom and endurance.  

• Give: You can rush help to Turkey and Syria by giving today. Your donation will support our partners at work in the region, ensuring more help can reach more people in this time of great need.

• Share: As the news cycle moves on to the latest headlines, you can help keep Turkey and Syria in the prayers of your friends, family and neighbors by sharing what you’ve learned in this blog.

If each one of us reflects on our own stories, we can see God clearly leading and moving in our lives. As I reflect on my own story, I see that I started out focused solely on myself. But then I met the Holy Spirit, and God became real to me. I made a firm decision to follow Him with my life. Then during my college years, I went on a mission trip with Global Outreaches Unlimited because I thought it would be fun. Well, it was fun, but it also changed the direction of my life. My heart for other cultures grew. When my graduate degree in Intercultural Studies required me to do an internship and my top choice fell through, I was placed with World Relief.

As the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, World Relief is an international Christian nonprofit organization with a mission to “empower the local church to serve the most vulnerable.” In the United States we work primarily with refugee resettlement and immigration services. I was amazed that there was an organization that loved two things I loved: the Church and the immigrant. I spent a year learning about World Relief’s ministry to refugees, much of it from refugees themselves. After my internship, I was hired in Spokane, Washington, as a refugee resettlement case manager where I’ve served for the past ten years. 

Now that you’ve heard my story, let me tell you a story of one of my refugee friends. Shortly after he was born, his family fled to a neighboring country to escape state-sanctioned infanticide. Though they were told to leave by someone they trusted, they also fled out of fear that their son would be killed. You know this refugee too. His name is Jesus. 

When refugees hear Jesus’ story, that He was also persecuted and made to flee to a different country much as they were, they feel known. They realize He understands what they are going through. He has experienced what they are experiencing.  

For years a church here in Spokane has hosted a “First Christmas” event for newly arrived refugees. The church throws a party with food and toys for the kids and also shares Jesus’ story. It’s cool to hear about the moments when these newcomers realize that Jesus understands them because He was one of them.  

“It’s cool to hear about the moments when these newcomers realize that Jesus understands them because He was one of them.” 

Jordan bemis

Each of these refugees has a story to tell. Every story is different, yet every story is similar. The struggles they face are not just the fear and the fleeing; the struggle is also with identity. I have heard over and over again that a refugee doesn’t know who they are. People in their native country didn’t want them and in fact may have tried to kill them. Neither did they have rights in neighboring countries to which they fled. They were not allowed to work, and in many cases, kids were not able to attend school. They were forced to simply wait.  

Refugees will tell you that this waiting until someone wanted them was the hardest part of their journey. I know many who had to wait ten, fifteen, even twenty years. I know adults in their twenties who were born in refugee camps; it is the only life they have known.  

The average wait for a refugee is seven years. That is a long time to not know how you fit in the world. Can you imagine how hard that wait would be on you mentally, emotionally, and physically?  

GOD IS DRAWING THE NATIONS 

One of our family’s favorite verses is Isaiah 55:5 (NIV): 

Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor. 

It is God who moves people. It is God who has allowed these refugees to come here. In the process He is drawing them and us to Him. Today there are 27.1 million refugees in the world registered with UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). On average, only half of one percent of those are resettled to a new country each year. Since I started working at World Relief Spokane in 2012, our office has received 2,401 refugees. That’s a lot of midnight airport pick-ups, home visits, grocery shopping, and enrolling kids in school! But those are just the tasks I am required to do because they are part of my job. It is their stories and the relationships that have impacted our community and me the most.  

When I began, one of my first cases was a mom from Afghanistan with four young boys. I spent a lot of time at their apartment because the landlord kept calling me with complaints such as the boys running around breaking off sprinkler heads and making messes in the laundry room. I’d drive to their place, spend time with them, and wonder how they were going to be okay. It was hard for them, but through relationships they built with us and with the community, they got settled and were able to grow and learn.  

“The average wait for a refugee is seven years. That is a long time to not know how you fit in the world. Can you imagine how hard that wait would be on you mentally, emotionally, and physically?“

jordan bemis

After five years, I was privileged to see them become citizens of the United States. Now ten years later, those boys are succeeding in college, graduating, and beginning successful careers. One of the boys even joined our staff for a while. Just how far they’ve come since they first arrived to where they are now shows God’s hand on their lives. 

There are many misconceptions about refugees, but actual statistics prove that, as in the case of the Afghan family, most eventually benefit their new communities. After the initial investment where we help them find housing and their first jobs, connect them to English classes and volunteers, and help them access healthcare they end up contributing in many ways. They start businesses that employ local people at a faster rate than native born Americans, they help stimulate the economy, and they are willing to do hard, physically demanding work that native citizens might not want to do. Those are just some of the financial benefits. Refugees add value to their new communities in so many other ways as well.  

I was recently speaking to a high school group about the subject of refugees, sharing stats about how refugees add value to the United States. I shared that within twenty years of settling here, the amount refugees pay in taxes more than makes up for what it cost the United States to resettle them. I was trying desperately to make a case about why we should help refugees when a girl in the front raised her hand. She said, “Well, all of that doesn’t really matter, does it, because isn’t it just the right thing to do?”  

I was speechless, hearing someone so young express truth a whole lot better than I was. Helping refugees is the right thing to do. Micah 6:8 says, “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” We should minister and partner with the refugee because it is God who is at work in both them and us, and He is wanting us to partner with Him in His mission. It is God who is drawing refugees and us to Him. 

It’s the incarnation of Jesus we hear about in the Christmas story that allows everyone, especially refugees, to relate to and know Him. And it is Christ in us through the Holy Spirit who gives us the courage to cross cultures, languages, and religions and to build relationships with refugees. This is a reciprocal relationship, where both the Church and refugees mutually learn from each other. We are blessed by one another as we are both drawn to Jesus. 

So how can you make a difference in the life of a refugee? 

Please Note: This article was originally published in the Message of the Open Bible.