By Lisa Hall

Pastor Andrea and I attended an interfaith meeting at B’nai Israel on January 9 to learn about congregations joining to sponsor a Syrian refugee family. Representatives of Jewish Family Services and Acentria (formerly Lutheran Family Services) spoke and answered questions. These two agencies are contracted with the federal government to resettle refugees in western Massachusetts. The agencies don’t choose who to resettle but are sent families by the federal government, which is required to resettle a certain number of refugees as part of our foreign policy commitments. 

The process for resettlement can be long. Initially, a refugee must be displaced from their home, and register with the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission on Refugees).  To be designated a refugee, they have to show that they cannot return home because of well-founded fear of persecution due to political, religious, racial, ethnic or other affiliations. 

Once a person has refugee designation, the UNHCR will try to help them to: 1) Return home if the danger has passed, 2) Settle in the country where they are a refugee, or 3) Resettle them in another country. Of the 66 million refugees worldwide, only one percent will be resettled in another country. Those eligible for resettlement may have to wait in a refugee camp for as long as 20 years. 

After the UNHCR determines they are to be resettled, a location is chosen, often because there are family or friends in that region. Once a family is referred to the US for resettlement, there is a process of vetting them which takes up to two years. Then the local agency is notified they are coming. The agency may have two weeks, but sometimes as little as four days, to arrange for pickup at the airport, housing, etc. 

The agencies are required to provide specific services for refugees on a strict timetable.

They must find housing that is affordable given the small stipends the families get from the federal government. Housing must be furnished with furniture, dishes, clothes and everything needed. The government requires that family members be taken to medical appointments, given cultural orientation to US society, children must be enrolled in school, and adults assisted to find work, with the goal of making the family self-sufficient. 

The local agency is only funded by the government for three months of assistance, even though it is understood that refugee families need support for at least five years. However, the agencies continue to provide services for as long as needed, (funded by separate grants and donations), including mental health counseling, English as a second language classes, job counseling, etc. 

So it is uncertain whether our interfaith group of faith communities will be able to sponsor a Syrian family, unless one happens to be assigned to western Massachusetts in the future.

However, because of the plight of the Syrian refugees, there has been an increase in interest in volunteering with these agencies, which is wonderful. Community support has always been critical to helping refugees resettle.  

I called Jewish Family Services and asked what they would like volunteers to do and they replied: “JFS is open to talking with anyone who would like to support our work.  Some of the structured ways that folks might like to help right now include: Preparing Welcome Kits for arriving families; Donating gently used household items; Tutoring in English; and Mentoring a family.”  

Details are available on their website.