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Regional refugee programs help hurricane evacuees

Dec. 2, 2005

NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.

By Carol Fouke*

NEW YORK (UMNS) - Partnerships between local congregations and refugee
resettlement agencies are key to the support Church World Service is
providing in 10 states to people displaced by the Gulf hurricanes.

CWS, the humanitarian agency, is working with its Miami Office and eight
of its local resettlement affiliates in communities across the United
States to provide comprehensive, individualized services to Gulf Coast
residents who have relocated.

National church bodies that support the CWS Immigration and Refugee
Program stepped forward with special funding for the hurricane evacuees,
and additional money is being raised as part of public appeals for funds
to support a broad CWS program of assistance to hurricane survivors.

Participating denominations include the United Methodist Church, as well
as the American Baptist Churches in the USA, Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ), Christian Reformed Church, Presbyterian Church (USA),
Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ.

Resettlement agencies train participating congregations on ways they can
provide moral and material support in order to assist these uprooted
people as they recover their dignity and regain self-sufficiency in
their new communities, whether their stay is short or long.

Giving priority to people most in need, the Church World Service program
is helping hurricane evacuees sort out the myriad disaster relief
programs; find jobs, health care, and affordable housing and
furnishings; get their children enrolled in school; and get oriented to
and integrated into their new communities.

"This privately funded program takes the professional case management
and congregational co-sponsorship model that CWS uses to help refugees -
people fleeing persecution in their home countries for safety in the
United States - and applying it to help meet the particular needs of
Americans displaced by the Gulf hurricanes," explained Erol Kekic,
associate director of the CWS Immigration and Refugee Program.

'God has a plan'

In Chicago, for example, the Interfaith Refugee & Immigration Ministries
is providing assistance to hurricane evacuees. Kelley Johnson of the
agency's evacuee assistance program said she assesses clients' needs,
matches them with congregational sponsors, and gives "follow-up support
for current sponsors who are working with cases needing more high-volume
case management attention."

Gulf Coast evacuees who are getting back on their feet with that
agency's help include a refugee from Eritrea who had resettled in New
Orleans in March under the auspices of Catholic Charities. He was
working in New Orleans, but when Katrina struck, he was evacuated to
Baton Rouge, Johnson said.

"Following the hurricane, he came to Chicago to live with an Eritrean
refugee friend, who offered his hospitality," she said. "They seem quite
content to be together and to have each other." Trinity United Methodist
Church in Wilmette, Ill., is helping both men with winter clothing, rent
and transportation.

Johnson also told of three friends - a physician, diabetes educator and
bilingual teacher - from New Orleans who lost everything to Hurricane
Katrina and relocated to Chicago.  All need to get re-licensed to work
in their respective fields in Illinois.

Johnson's agency found them housing in the parsonage of First United
Methodist Church of Elmhurst, and she said the congregation has become a
support system for them.

The physician, Dr. Tony Capps, told Johnson that congregation members
"have been right there when we needed anything.  I am so appreciative of
all the good things that people are trying to do.

"It is hard sometimes to be on the receiving end when I am always the
caregiver," Capps said. "But it is times like these that teach us
humility and thankfulness. I am learning to grow in new directions due
to this tragic change in my life. God has a plan, and I am doing my best
to quiet my heart and listen."

Partnering with churches

By late October, the CWS/IRP Miami Office was assisting 84 clients from
the U.S. Gulf Coast. Jose Sanchez, who is coordinating the office's
evacuee assistance program, described the services CWS has offered: "We
assessed each person's needs, provided a basic community orientation,
and referred them to such mainstream services as Medicaid and food
stamps, making sure basic needs for food and clothing were met.

"We also refer evacuees to the Principe de Paz Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Miami, Fla., which is offering $100 in food assistance to each
evacuee family weekly. Most take advantage of this support. We've also
been working with South Florida Work Force to provide employment
services."

PARA Refugee Services in Grand Rapids, Mich., had assessed 21 evacuees'
needs by the end of October, and already had matched many with
congregational sponsors.

Cornerstone United Methodist Church in Grand Rapids stepped forward to
help a Louisiana man find his own place after living in a temporary
shelter for more than a month. Sunshine Christian Reformed Church in
Grand Rapids is assisting a New Orleans woman who got stranded in Grand
Rapids when Hurricane Katrina hit.

First United Methodist Church and three Christian Reformed congregations
- Cascade Fellowship, Westview and South Grandville - also are
sponsoring families who relocated to Grand Rapids from the U.S. Gulf
Coast.

By early November, Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Services of
Atlanta had evaluated the needs of nearly 500 Gulf Coast evacuees and
trained 60 churches in how to assist them. To date, 50 churches, along
with other groups, have agreed to sponsor an identified evacuee family
or families.

In September, Oak Grove United Methodist Church in Atlanta welcomed both
a refugee family from Russia and an evacuee family - Tamika Obleton,
Raymon Nealy Jr. and their two sons - from New Orleans. The church found
and furnished apartments for both families, and within two weeks got
Raymon Nealy Jr. a job interview. First Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) in Atlanta is assisting Tamika's sister, her fiancé and their
4-year-old son.

Refugee Services of Texas is providing assistance to evacuees through
its offices in Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin. "The numbers here are
overwhelming," said Chip Corcoran, who is overseeing the program.

In Austin, about 75 evacuee families have been matched with 30 area
churches, and an additional 80 families will be matched soon, according
to the agency's Ashley Gillespie.

"Since most evacuees' housing needs have been taken care of, the
majority of churches are involved in what we call a 'neighborhood
project,'" she said. "The sponsors help evacuees navigate Austin social
services, assist them with transportation, and help them integrate
within their new communities.  They phone the evacuees a couple times a
week and bring them a few meals every once in a while."

Hearts wide open

The Virginia Council of Churches Refugee Resettlement Program in
Richmond is assisting evacuees through its Richmond, Hampton
Roads/Newport News, and Harrisonburg offices.

VCC-Hampton Roads is working to link local churches with hurricane
evacuees to assist with housing, employment, transportation and
furnishings. The VCC's Teri Doddy reported many ongoing needs - and
congregations' tireless help.

"Their hearts are wide open," she said. "I think we all realize it could
be any one of us.  When you are sitting in front of someone who has been
affected, you can't walk away.	I've cried with people, hugged them,
taken them to the doctor. Several people who spent days in their flooded
homes before being rescued still are ill from the mold and mildew."

Among Virginia congregations lending a hand is Courthouse Community
United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach, which started by assembling
and shipping 100 CWS "Gift of the Heart" health kits and numerous
emergency clean-up buckets for Gulf hurricane survivors, then
contributed almost $12,000 through the United Methodist Committee on
Relief for its post-hurricane response.

In addition, the congregation signed up to provide an evacuee family of
five with "hospitality" for up to six months. The church is offering
housing and employment assistance, food and furnishings.

Lynnhaven United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach is sponsoring a
woman, her parents and her two children, providing housing and
employment assistance, furnishings, clothing and food. Ebenezer United
Methodist Church in Suffolk is "sponsoring a couple completely,
providing housing for up to six months, furnishings, food, clothing, and
trying to find them a vehicle."

*Fouke is a staff member of the CWS Immigration and Refugee Program.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org

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