In the Spotlight: RAISE, Welcome Teams, and Community Sponsorship
By Marisa Tesoro
To effectively support new Afghan arrivals, federal partners and resettlement agencies rapidly created new systems, which will continue to benefit newcomers.
In August 2021, as the Taliban took over Afghanistan and our allies were evacuated, folks faced long journeys to overseas military bases and then to domestic military bases across the U.S.
From there, local resettlement agencies received and supported newcomers in record numbers as federal partners were eager to place families as quickly as possible so they could start rebuilding their lives in the U.S. New federal programs were also established to speed up the process, creating alternate pathways to resettlement, such as the State Afghan Placement and Assistance Program (SAPA) and Sponsor Circles.
Each resettlement agency in Missouri also stood up versions of community or co-sponsorship groups where community organizations, religious congregations, and/or ad-hoc groups volunteered to provide wrap-around services and financial support to clients.
By the “end,” new processes were established, new partnerships formed and hundreds of volunteers across the state were mobilized. Now, the work has shifted, and a new chapter is underway.
RAISE was a small but mighty team of 3 working in Noel, Missouri, when they started working with MO-ORA to provide Refugee Support Services (RSS) in March 2021.
Fast forward a year, and they’re up to 11 folks on staff, a mix of full- and part-time employees, helping run the ship.
The arrival of Afghan SIVs and Humanitarian Parolees through Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) jumpstarted their ability to welcome and support refugees.
It all began when they worked with the International Institute’s Southwest Missouri Branch in Springfield and helped resettle about 40 people (7 families) from November to December 2021.
RAISE had their office in Noel, but were looking to expand and resettle folks in Joplin.
“We didn’t even have any space, no command center,” said Kara Gebre, Program Director at RAISE or Refugee and Immigrant Services and Education. “We had nothing in Joplin.”
But thanks to a community partner, Crosslines Ministries, they were able to get some office space and a conference room to set up shop in Joplin.
From there, they continued to grow and welcome more families along the way. The State Afghan Placement and Assistance Program (SAPA) allowed RAISE to act as a local resettlement agency and MO-ORA to act as the national agency. In that capacity, RAISE received about 100 more people (13 families) from January to February. To date, they have now helped resettle more than 150 Afghans, and 3 new babies have been born with 4 more on the way.
To refresh on how refugee resettlement normally works in the U.S., check out this resource.
Welcome Teams
But how did this organization rapidly scale up and welcome so many people in such a short amount of time?
Mike Newman, Executive Director at RAISE, will tell you:
The thing that saved our bacon was this Welcome Team concept. We had different volunteers come around each family. Each family has their own “American” family. And those families are the ones doing the bulk of the transportation, taking them shopping, especially when the men couldn’t drive and didn’t have driver’s licenses. And if we hadn’t had that in place, there’s just no way.
RAISE went around to large churches in the area and made presentations, outlining the need for volunteer and financial support. From there, Welcome Teams began to form that would stage the home, stock the fridge, pick new arrivals up from the airport and welcome them to their new home.
Shifting Focus and Support
Now this network of about 525 volunteers, mostly members of Welcome Teams, is stepping into a new chapter of refugee resettlement.
Many of the Afghan men in the families that had been resettled in the winter have started working AND driving! A nearby La-Z-Boy factory has hired many folks to manufacture chairs and sofas, meaning many of the men are now gone 4 days a week for at least 10 hours each day.
“All those other dynamics have really changed for [the women],” Mike said. “We’re just really homing in now on women’s ESL… And we’re even teaching them driving English… Many of them want to drive, and they understand that they need to. If their husband is working during the day, they need to get somewhere.”
This presents new opportunities for Welcome Teams to live up to their name. Previously, they had been tasked with concrete to-do’s such as scheduling and transporting clients to appointments and taking them shopping. Now comes to the more intangible work of being there for newcomers.
Mike plans to explain to the teams:
It’s going to come to the point where now you’re going to be helping them become independent. And then as they become more independent and able to kind of take care of themselves, you are their American family. You are there for them for the duration of however long they stay in the job even if it’s 5 years, if it’s 10 years, you are their American family.
Local Opportunities
There’s a spectrum of commitment when it comes to community sponsorship opportunities. As the needs of resettlement agencies and new refugee arrivals evolve, so to will the tasks of community sponsorship groups. In any case, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in a way that matches your desired level of commitment.
Della Lamb has short-term and long-term co-sponsorship opportunities available in Kansas City.
Jewish Vocation Service (JVS) also has House to Home volunteer teams that “can be made of community, business, or faith groups that support a refugee family during their initial resettlement in Kansas City.”
Catholic Charities Refugee Services has community sponsorship groups in mid-Missouri that handle most resettlement tasks, such as enrolling clients in school, applying for public benefits, securing affordable housing and more.
The International Institute of St. Louis is looking for more groups to sponsor refugee families and help provide education, employment, housing and transportation support among meeting other needs. If interested, contact Wafa Osman for more information: osmanw@iistl.org, 314-773-9090, ext 182.