Faith groups mobilize aid to refugees
LOS ANGELES » As U.S. refugee resettlement agencies and nonprofits nationwide gear up to help Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion and war that has raged for nearly six weeks, members of faith communities have been leading the charge to welcome the displaced.
In Southern California, pastors and lay individuals are stationing themselves at the Mexico border waving Ukrainian flags and offering food, water and prayer. Around the country, other religious groups are getting ready to provide longerterm support for refugees who will have to find housing, work, health care and schooling.
Aaron Szloboda, an assistant pastor at the Christian church Calvary San Diego, recently spent 50 hours straight at the Mexican border handing out food and water to Ukrainians lined up to enter the United States.
Just 10 minutes from the frontier, Calvary San Diego has become something of a hub for newly arrived refugees, a place where they can recuperate after a harrowing journey and plan their next steps.
On Friday, its walls were lined with snacks, beverages, dolls and stuffed animals as families arrived clutching duffel bags, suitcases and the hands of small children. They were welcomed inside to rest, eat a meal and check their phones.
Volunteers helped them navigate their immediate individual needs: information on flights to New York; how to change euros to dollars; a ride for a friend who had just walked across the border.
Szloboda, whose Hungarian Jewish grandfather survived the Holocaust and lost family members to Nazi genocide, believes he is being called to serve those in dire need: “They’re exhausted physically and mentally.”
The U.S. has agreed to accept up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine, which has experienced a flight of more than 4 million people since late February. The Biden administration is also expected to end pandemic-related asylum limits at the U.s.-mexico border on May 23, caps that have drawn criticism from immigration advocates.
But even before such refugee resettlements begin, faith-based groups have already been helping Ukrainians who have made their way to the United States. Some arrived directly on travel visas. Others traveled to Mexico and then to the U.S. border to claim asylum, enabling them to stay in the U.S. while their cases are processed.
Refugee resettlement agencies can use all the help they can get to accommodate the influx. Deep cuts during the Trump administration led them to slash staffing and programming, and they have already been scrambling to help tens of thousands of Afghans seeking asylum after fleeing last year’s Taliban takeover.
“We’ve started dealing with these crises before there has been a chance to rebuild that infrastructure,” said Stephanie Nawyn, associate professor of sociology at Michigan State University who focuses on refugee issues.
“Refugees have a lot of needs — homes, jobs, English classes, financial assistance, schools and translators who will help them navigate all of that. That’s too much even for a large organization,” Nawyn said. “While getting more people of faith to help is great, not having enough resources or case managers is still going to be a problem.”
Minda Schweizer, founder and executive director of Home for Refugees, a Christian nonprofit based in Orange County, Calif., said resources are sorely needed at the local level where faith-based groups continue helping Afghan refugees who are still finding their way.
“Many Afghan refugees are still in motels because we’re in the midst of a housing crisis,” Schweizer said.