Afghan Info Night
Thursday, Jan. 13th, 7pm
20 Arco Drive (Toledo, OH 43607)
We are in the midst of a crisis and an opportunity.
The crisis is the Afghans who have fled their country.
This opportunity could shape the way the United States resettles refugees for decades to come.
The government, in the fall of 2021 created a brand new program called Sponsor Circles. This program allows for communities to bypass the traditional resettlement process and allow volunteers within a community to resettle a family.
This program was specifically created when tens of thousands of Afghans were forced to flee their country. Many of them are currently being housed on military bases within the US. Because the government’s resettlement program cannot resettle this amount of people quickly with its current infrastructure, they have created the new program called “Sponsor Circles.”
Sponsor Circles are a group of volunteers committed to resettling an Afghan family for the first 90 days in their community.
Requirements to resettle a family include:
-finding secure housing
-helping with legal paperwork
-helping to find jobs
-initial set up of the apartment including providing furniture, clothing, food
-registering kids into schools
-etc.
If this community-based approach to resettlement works well, it is possible the US Refugee Resettlement process could be adjusted to allow this approach for years to come.
We believe this is a time for the church to step up their efforts in welcoming foreigners, specifically those who are vulnerable, experienced grave injustices, and are in desperate need for a community that they can trust.