Area towns team up to help Afghan families
TRUMBULL — Heidi Hanson saw the plight of Afghan families resettled into the United States after escaping their country from Taliban rule and said she knew she needed to act.
But the Trumbull resident didn’t know where to start, until she saw a Facebook posting requesting donations and supplies by fellow resident, Tara Figueroa.
“I said, sure, I can absolutely help you with this,” Hanson said.
The two joined forces with residents from other nearby cities and towns, including Westport, Monroe, Fairfield and Stamford, along with various advocacy organizations to raise $447, plus $800 in grocery gift cards and 35 backpacks filled with supplies and additional items.
The effort to raise money and supplies comes in response to requests for help from the New Haven-based group, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS). The state is expected to receive up to 300 families within the next few months and the organization put out a call for donations in late August after the Afghan government collapsed, causing hundreds of thousands to flee.
“Surely there’s something that we can also do. And I put out an ask among my social network, seeing who would want to volunteer for a donation drive,” Figueroa said.
Founded in 1982, IRIS has worked with immigrants and refugees in the state, assisting with resettlement and providing them with housing aid, job placement and education. The organization in recent weeks has become swamped with families seeking access to housing, according to Ann O’Brien, the director of community engagement.
O’Brien said the efforts by individuals was a huge help, and it also helped donors feel like they were taking personal action.
“They’ve seen the pictures on the news, they see the pain in these parents faces, and they’re parents or kids themselves,” she said. “While they can give money, it doesn’t feel the same for some people.”
O’Brien said she believes the outreach all over the state has been extraordinary.
“I do think this level of outpouring of support is larger than we’ve ever seen before,” she said.
The situation was personal for Jacqueline Levin, a Fairfield resident who who emigrated from her native Peru 24 years ago. She said she is intimately familiar with the isolation moving to a new country can entail.
“I know what it’s like, to come here to a new country without even knowing the language,” Levin said.
Rather than looking at the donations as charity, she calls it solidarity.
In addition to housing and food, the newly arriving families also will need coats, and other support. O’Brien said it’s likely that donations for Afghan families could last into next year.
Figueroa already is planning with others on their next drive and looking into ways to involve young people. She said the response to the donation drive had revealed a basic truth about the local communities.
“The biggest part that I feel proud of is the connectivity across communities, to be able to come together and make a difference in families’ lives. That’s really what it boils down to me,” she said. “That impact, those gestures of kindness for me, are just so fulfilling. And I feel like I’m contributing to the best version of our community.”