Media
US families step up to welcome Afghan refugees in their homes
by Katie Kindelan, Good Morning America
Kenneth and Adi Martinez have an extra bedroom in the home they share outside of Seattle with their 6-month-old son and 3-year-old daughter.
So when the Martinezes watched the coverage of tens of thousands of people fleeing Afghanistan last month as the Taliban took over, they stepped up to help.
Resolution would express Spokaneâs support for resettling Afghan refugees
Spokane City Council to vote on a nonbinding resolution expressing support for Afghan refugees.
With hundreds expected to arrive in the coming months, the Spokane City Council will vote on a resolution Monday expressing support for the relocation of Afghan refugees here.
Though nonbinding, the resolution would formally state elected officialsâ support for taking in those fleeing Afghanistan as the United States withdrew its military and the Taliban gained control last month.
The resolution notes the assistance that many Afghans provided to the U.S. military during its nearly 20-year war in the country.
Refugee organizations say theyâre seeing a surge of donations for Afghans
Image: Michael Blackshire/The Washington Post
by Sarah Pulliam Bailey, The Washington Post
Leaders of several refugee resettlement organizations say money and resources have been flooding in from across the country to assist Afghan evacuees who helped American forces during the two-decade war.
Refugee organizations scramble to settle Afghans after years of Trump-era budget cuts
by Danielle DuClos, ABC News
After the Biden administration finished one of the largest airlifts in the nation’s history Aug. 30, organizations tasked with helping Afghans arriving in the U.S. are scrambling to ramp up operations following years of downsizing due to the Trump administration’s slashed refugee program.
Over 50,000 Afghan evacuees expected to resettle in U.S., says DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
BY NICOLE SGANGA, BO ERICKSON, ELEANOR WATSON, ED O’KEEFE
Refugee and immigration advocates have been pushing the White House to provide mental health counseling and culturally sensitive services to Afghan evacuees. Mayorkas said Friday he’s met with dozens of non-profit and community organizations, and vowed to provide “cultural competency, access to counsel, trauma counseling and pastoral care” to at-risk Afghans arriving in the U.S.
See the full story on CBS Mornings.
Learn what you can do to help Afghan refugees in Sacramento >>
âDurham is ready.â City and county officials publicly welcome Afghan refugees
DURHAM
Omid Ahmadzai fled his home in Afghanistan in 2015. He spoke outside Durham City Hall on Monday for those still there.
Ahmadzai resettled in Durham with the help of Church World Service. He spoke alongside elected leaders and refugee workers at a press conference where officials publicly announced their support for Afghan refugees.
âTheir life is at high risk right now,â Ahmadzai said of fellow Afghans who worked for the American government and military yet remain stuck in Afghanistan with the Taliban in control of the country. …
Read full article by Laura Brache at the Herald Sun here.
Durham to welcome Afghan refugees fleeing turmoil of Taliban takeover in Afghanistan
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — Durham will open its arms and welcome Afghan refugees to the city.
Mayor Steve Schewel and other local leaders held a news conference Monday morning to officially state that Afghan refugees were welcome in Durham and would be loved as soon as they arrived.
The refugees are fleeing their home country as the Taliban takes over the county after the collapse of the Afghan government amid the withdrawal of US troops.
ABC11 spoke with an Afghan refugee in Durham who emigrated here a few years ago. He said his 20-year-old cousin died last week during the suicide bomb attack at Kabul Airport, which also killed 13 US service members. …
Read the full article by Tim Pulliam and Ana Rivera at abc11 here.
Durham Will Welcome Refugees from Afghanistan for Resettlement
Durham extended its melody of providing solace to the stranger this week as County Commissioners Wendy Jacobs and Nida Allam announced that the Bull City is one of several cities across the country that will soon receive an unspecified number of Afghan refugees.
âIt is my understanding that we could receive up to 90 refugees in September,â Jacobs told the INDY on Wednesday. âThis is a lot considering that we were only receiving a few hundred per year, total [from all over the world] in Durham in the past, typically.â
Several non-profits, including Church World Service, Lutheran Services Carolinas, and World Relief Durham have stepped up to provide support services that will include housing and translation, Jacobs said on Monday during the Board of Commissionersâ regularly scheduled meeting. …
Read full article by Thomasi McDonald at the Indy Week here.
World Relief Spokane expecting arrival of Afghan refugees
World Relief Spokane talks about new Afghan arrivals and its history with Afghan refugees.
SPOKANE, Wash. – World Relief Spokane is expecting the arrival of Afghan refugees by the end of the week
World Relief said the next couple of months refugees are going to be needing help from finding housing, jobs, learning English and getting their kids into the school system.
Afghan families are being rapidly resettled in the US. But adjusting to their new lives will take years
BY MONICA CAMPBELL
Among the groups spearheading efforts to support Afghan refugees once they land in the US are refugee resettlement agencies and Afghan American groups.
âOur mission is to get you somewhere to live, get you enrolled in a jobs program, and get your first couple of months’ rent and utilities paid,â said Vanassa Hamra, with World Relief Sacramento, part of a larger refugee resettlement agency.
That is often the path for many refugees resettled in the US: They receive federal help with housing, enrolling kids in school and finding work. Those benefits can run out, however, within a year, so having affordable rent is critical once refugees are on their own.
See the full story on The World.
Learn what you can do to help Afghan refugees in Sacramento >>