Regional refugee programs help hurricane evacuees

Dec. 2, 2005
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.