Introductory Overview of the Resettlement Process
BEFORE REFUGEES ARE BROUGHT INTO THE UNITED STATES
WHO IS COMING AT THIS TIME?
Refugees are currently coming primarily from:
WHO KEEPS TRACK OF REFUGEES WHEN THEY ARRIVE?
WHAT SUPPORT DO REFUGEE FAMILIES GET WHEN THEY ARRIVE?
NETWORK OF LOCAL AGENCIES
All four local affiliates (IINE, RIAC, JFSMW and CCAB) cooperate with the same group of secondary providers, most of them in Boston, Lowell and Lynn:
WHAT WOULD HOLY TRINITY’S ROLE BE?
The system is not set up to require a role by faith-based organizations, but resettlement agencies are so strapped for cash that they generally welcome whatever support a congregation can provide. HTUMC would not have legal responsibility for the family, but we would have moral responsibility for whatever aspects of the process we promised to take on. This could include:
- Candidates for resettlement in the US are extensively vetted by Homeland Security
- Priorities: Widows with children, victims of torture, and those with serious medical issues
- Selected candidates may get a day of very general orientation about life in the U.S., more extensive in some camps than in others. They know next to nothing about the specific place where they will be resettled.
- Where refugees are settled is decided by the State Department and nine national voluntary agencies (“Volags”) such as Church World Service and Catholic Charities. Each refugee family is assigned to a Volag, which then takes legal and practical responsibility for sponsoring them. Volags place most refugees in a limited number of locations across the country that are deemed to have sufficient job opportunities, moderate rents, and essential support services plus a local agency affiliated with the Volag to do case management. High rents in the Boston area make this a difficult place to resettle.
WHO IS COMING AT THIS TIME?
Refugees are currently coming primarily from:
- Eastern Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea) and the Congo (speak African languages, some French)
- Mid-East (Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, fewer from Syria) - speak Levantine & Iraqi Arabic, Farsi, Dari
- Asia (Bhutan, Myanmar)
WHO KEEPS TRACK OF REFUGEES WHEN THEY ARRIVE?
- A local agency affiliated with the sponsoring Volag is responsible for the family upon arrival. There are only four such agencies in eastern Massachusetts. We must work with one of them.
- Ethiopian Community Development Council (Volag) has an affiliate in Jamaica Plain: the Refugee & Immigrant Assistance Center (RIAC). RIAC is willing to work with us, but we would probably be supporting their clients in the Boston area rather than building a relationship with a family near us.
- Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (Volag) has an affiliate in Framingham: Jewish Family Services of MetroWest (JFSMW). This group hopes to sponsor many Syrian families, and would be happy to have our support, especially financial support, but again, we would be supporting their clients rather than building a relationship with a family near us.
- U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (Volag) has an affiliate in Lowell: The International Institute of New England (IINE). Ray spoke with Cheryl Hamilton from this agency, and she thought the distance between us and their Lowell-centered services would make sponsoring a family here difficult.
- U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (Volag) has an affiliate in South Boston: Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston (CCAB). We met with Marjean Perhot and Grace Gaskill of CCAB and they were enthusiastic about working with us. It is easier for us to get to CCAB than the other agencies, and we would probably be able to use support services in Lynn.
- All these local agencies operate under the same regulations and receive refugees from many different countries. They act as case manager for the families they sponsor and make sure they meet requirements and receive services as regulations require. They follow a standard checklist.
- Federal financial support for refugees is very limited so local affiliates have to raise donations to supplement it. Our area’s high rents make resettlement quite difficult and it is unlikely that any agency can offer us additional greater cash assistance – they are desperate for US to help THEM.
- The local affiliate is heavily involved in the first 6 weeks or so and follows up for several months.
- Goal is for refugee family to be self-sufficient within six months
WHAT SUPPORT DO REFUGEE FAMILIES GET WHEN THEY ARRIVE?
- Welcome money: $925-$1100 one-time only grant is eaten up by initial rental costs
- Welfare (TANF): $731/month for a family of 4, reduced when family has employment income, ends after two years. TANF = Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
- Food stamps (SNAP): about $600/month for a family of 4, usable only for consumable food (no toilet paper, diapers or tampons, not to mention cigarettes or alcohol)
- Mass health: apparently free, CCAB said it was the least of their worries and it worked well
- Sponsoring affiliate locates an affordable apartment but does NOT take financial responsibility.
- Sponsoring affiliate provides basic furnishings (they depend on donations for these)
- Sponsoring affiliate provides hot meals for the first day and food for the first week.
- Sponsoring affiliate works with second tier of agencies to provide required services:
- Health assessment
- Social Security office
- Set up with ESOL lessons
- Job assistance
- Set up kids in schools
NETWORK OF LOCAL AGENCIES
All four local affiliates (IINE, RIAC, JFSMW and CCAB) cooperate with the same group of secondary providers, most of them in Boston, Lowell and Lynn:
- New American Center in Lynn – job placement, ESOL, case management, health, citizenship
- Lynn Community Health Center – refugee health assessments
- Jewish Vocational Services – Federal Street, Boston – job placement
- Self-help agencies such as the Russian Community Association of MA
- Department of Transitional Assistance (Welfare) – provides TANF
- Local Schools
- Faith Communities like us
WHAT WOULD HOLY TRINITY’S ROLE BE?
The system is not set up to require a role by faith-based organizations, but resettlement agencies are so strapped for cash that they generally welcome whatever support a congregation can provide. HTUMC would not have legal responsibility for the family, but we would have moral responsibility for whatever aspects of the process we promised to take on. This could include:
- Finding an apartment – talking with CCAB, seems best to aim for a particular family profile (say, 3-5 people including children) so that we know what we need in an apartment. Apartment needs to be in place before they come.
- Providing furnishings, appropriate food for a week, warm meals at immediate arrival
- Finding a job (New Americans Center is obvious resource, but we might also have leads)
- Transportation to many required interviews and classes
- Lots of language support
- Cultural orientation, friendship, but don’t want to create dependency