Two refugee resettlement programs in Tucson are expected by mid-week to have placed 53 Afghans into housing in the city and are working to help the families and individuals feel at home, officials said.
"Everyone who has come so far has been really grateful to the community, and they are grateful to be here," said Heidi Urbina, a spokeswoman for Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest.
Urbina said the resettlement program can accept 150 Afghan refugees. Five have arrived and 20 more are expected this month.
The other local refugee resettlement program, International Rescue Committee, said its program is expecting to receive 400 refugees in Tucson, said Melanie Reyes, community outreach coordinator for IRC. Thus far, the agency has received 41, and a family of seven is expected to arrive by Wednesday.
The State Department Office of Refugee Resettlement will contract for refugee services with national organizations that will allocate money to local resettlement organizations for staff, housing and other expenses.
Lutheran Social Services and International Rescue Committee will help the refugees apply for a work permit, find employment, enroll children in school and look for other resources to provide assistance to the individuals and families.
The resettlement process does include the support of mental health and addresses physical concerns, according to officials.
The refugees are paired with volunteers and others to practice English, and learn to navigate going to the grocery and drug stores, and learn about daily living and what needs to be done. Afghan refugees, who made Tucson their home years ago, will be introduced to the newly settled Afghans so they can help them fit into and feel comfortable in their new surroundings.
Catholic Community Services, which is an affiliated organization of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, is a community partner with the state's resettlement program and is working with the federal Afghan Placement and Assistance Program to help provide basic needs to refugees, including personal and household items.
City Councilman Steve Kozachik said he began collecting items for the refugees earlier this month, and his Ward 6 office no longer can take in furniture. All furniture donated for the refugees can be collected from the donors for free by Habitat for Humanity and taken to the Habistore. Fifty percent of sales of that furniture will go into a fund for Afghan families to use at the store, Kozachik said. He said the Kaimas Foundation will match up to $5,000 in the fund.
The federal government has to quicken its pace to get Afghans to Tucson so they can get into a stable living situation, said Kozachik. "Families have been through a tremendous amount of trauma already, and they need to get settled here and become members of our community," he said.
Officials with Lutheran Social Services have said refugee resettlement programs used to work with 95,000 refugees a year across the country, but the numbers were lowered and last year the official cap was set at 18,000, but the U.S. welcomed fewer than 12,000 people. Over the years, resettlement programs disbanded. Now, the government is working on relationships with housing, employers, school districts and congregations to reactivate all of the systems to work with this influx of Afghan refugees.
This is initially the first wave of Afghan refugees in the city since the U.S. completed its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in August, ending a 20-year war. The Taliban took over the country in days.
Once the refugees are relocated in the United States, 6,000 to 10,000 people per week are expected to be taken across the country to resettlement programs in various states, and 54,000 are expected to be resettled.
