There are dozens of people statewide who are working together in weekly calls to create systems that welcome and support refugees from Afghanistan into Minnesota. Since last year, more than 2 million people have fled Afghanistan — which has suffered from decades of conflict, poverty, and food insecurity — and 83,000 are being placed in the U.S.
According to the International Rescue Committee, roughly 300,000 Afghans worked with U.S. military operations since our arrival in their country in 2001, making many of them eligible to obtain a U.S. visa. More than 3,000 Afghans remain in areas waiting for transport, and 35,000 remain on military bases awaiting a new country assignment.
According to Rachele King, State Refugee Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, just over 800 individuals are expected to arrive in Minnesota before February. More than half already are here, and roughly half of those have already moved from transitional housing into permanent homes.
Most of the refugees are currently in the Twin Cities, about 80 will be living in Rochester, and some are arriving to St. Cloud. King indicates that currently people are moved out of transitional Minnesota housing to permanent homes in an average of 17 days, “which is amazing.”
With 12,000 refugees still seeking a final destination in the U.S., Minnesota is working to increase its capacity. The national refugee resettlement community is reportedly impressed with the action Minnesota has mobilized already.
(as of 12/10, to be updated regularly when we are able to assign our reporter to ongoing coverage)
BBC, August report of Afghan departures
BBC, history of Afghanistan conflict
National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Resettlement agencies who work directly with families as they move to permanent homes include Lutheran Social Services (LSS) and Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC), Arrive Ministries, International Institute of Minnesota (IIM), and Catholic Charities – Rochester.
LSS has been working with 120 arrivals since October 1, with five new families this week. They work on documentation papers, employment authorizations, social security cards, food assistance, and meeting basic household needs for move-ins. Karin Blythe, LSS program director of refugee services, reports that several landlords have been receptive at finding home units in good community areas where refugees are near each other. The goal is to try to find permanent housing within 30 days of arrival.
MCC is serving 138 people so far, with arrivals scheduled into February. A housing team hosts sessions Mondays at 1pm to help potential and current landlords and property managers feel secure renting to newcomers who are seeking work.
The stated intentions of the Minnesota support team are to uplift the individuals and families as experts of their own needs, celebrate their resilience, elevate the voices of those who have been marginalized, and maintain a spirit of joy for healing and transformation.
The working group conversation was moderated by Anjuli Cameron, of the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, who concluded by saying that connecting the dots with community help to expand the capacity of resettlement agencies will be appreciated from all, especially as communication processes improve about needs and gaps. “Each day we get better,” she says.
She indicated to Minnesota Women’s Press that there are too many additional organizations to highlight who are responding to this need. “We have had such an incredible community response,” she says. “It has been an incredibly collaborative response between a number of different stakeholders.”