SITUATION:
- 4 AZ agencies are supporting refugees, asylum seekers, and evacuees. The narrow pipeline (30 families over the past two years) has widened (10 families this month).
- 1600 Afghan evacuees are expected to arrive in AZ. Lutheran Social Services expects 200 in Phoenix.
- Afghan evacuees have come to the U.S. with only the clothes on their backs.
- Airbnb is making temporary housing available for Afghan evacuees, but apartments (likely 2-bedroom) will need to be furnished for them within 1-3 months after arrival.
- They will likely be housed in Central Phoenix, perhaps Mesa.
- All refugees are victims of trauma, but Afghan evacuees will arrive with more immediate experiences of trauma.
- In the current fluid environment, unless legislative changes occur, Afghan evacuees:
- receive no cash support for food, clothing;
- no Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funds;
- only children may be eligible for food stamps (SNAP); and
- only children may be eligible for medical insurance.
- This is currently being handled as an emergency humanitarian process and so evacuees will require more support and that support will have to come from outside of formal programs.
SUPPORTS AVAILABLE:
- Living Water’s congregation has an experienced team and process for gathering furniture and other items to outfit an apartment, though it takes several months to accomplish.
- A Paradise Valley Methodist congregation has partnered with LSS-SW for 5 years to support 2-3 families per year; we need not “reinvent the wheel” on our own.
- LSS-SW case manager will assist evacuees with getting SSN, AZ ID, work authorization, possible trauma counseling.
- LSS-SW will provide two-hour training for persons who wish to work in direct contact with evacuees (e.g., assisting with cultural orientation, enrolling children in schools, food & clothing shopping, finding free medical/dental clinics and food banks, learning public transportation, visits to area activities, airport arrival and initial warm meal preparation).
- A few persons from each congregation will need to obtain fingerprint cards, as at least one person with such documentation must be present for any direct interaction with family.
- It seems possible that there could be division of responsibilities among volunteers, e.g., one focus on school enrollment, another on banking, etc.
DISCERNMENT NEEDED:
How can New Journey, New Covenant, Living Water, and Christ the Lord congregations – working in collaboration – provide “bigger, brighter, bolder” support to an arriving family or families in need?
Option A: Commit to increase capacity for apartment furnishing by three more congregations joining in the established Living Water’s process. (Living Water has paid $240/month for an 8X8 storage unit to hold furnishings; Christ the Lord & Living Water will jointly cover the next 3 months, but hope for other donor(s) to sustain the rental.)
Goal: Provide more of the fully-ready housing that LSS-SW will need for incoming evacuee and refugee arrivals.
Option B: Commit, as NE Valley Consortium, to sponsor a refugee family (might be from Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Somalia).
Goal: Provide “end-to-end” support for a family (which might be an individual, a small family, or a large family). LSS-SW would notify the consortium leadership when a family is arriving and we would say “yes” or “no” – i.e., if we do not see ourselves able to support a family of 9, we would pass. This would entail:
- Minimum 3-month commitment – up to 12-month commitment (our choice)
- 2-4 hours per week by small number of persons to support direct services, noted above
- Frequent travel to Central Phoenix (possibly Mesa)
- More LSS-SW case management and Federal resource support, as noted above
Option C: Commit, as NE Valley Consortium, to sponsor an Afghan evacuee family.
Goal: Provide “end-to-end” support to evacuees, as described above. This would entail:
- Minimum 3-month commitment – up to 12-month commitment (our choice)
- Possible move from temporary to apartment housing within first three months
- Greater need for gift card support for food and clothing, to replace SNAP and TANF funds (giving direct cash is discouraged for safety and empowerment reasons)
- Possible greater than 2-4 hours per week by small number of persons (though perhaps a few more of them) to support direct contact services
- Frequent travel to Central Phoenix (possibly Mesa)
- Likely greater emotional capacity to support families, given lesser LSS-SW case management and counselor support
In any of above options, LSS-SW will very likely invite additional support for:
- Christmas “Angel Tree” drive
- Ramadan special meals/possible gifts (evening of April 2 through sundown May 1, 2022)
- Birthday presents and delivery for children
- No option precludes individuals direct contributions or volunteer service to LSS-SW