Since October, JFCS has helped over 100 individuals from Afghanistan make Pittsburgh their home, with a plan to settle 263 Afghan refugees in total over the next nine months.
This is a historic time in refugee resettlement history in terms of number of arrivals, timeframe of resettlement and social and political context. In just the first two weeks of December, we received 49 new arrivals. We’ve been working hard to provide housing, food, and other basic necessities to each family, with a lot of support and help from the community.
What’s Happening with the Families Once They Arrive
When a family arrives in Pittsburgh, they are met at the airport by a JFCS staff member and an interpreter, if necessary. They are taken to their housing, whether temporary or permanent, and given a hot meal for the evening. JFCS also provides them with some initial groceries and household and kitchen items. When a family moves into a permanent space, whether upon arrival or later on, we provide them with beds and furniture as well.
From there, JFCS staff work to connect families to all the basic services. They attend medical appointments, apply for benefits and Social Security cards, learn how to use the bus, and enroll their children in school. Adults also enroll in ESL, if they need it. From there, the families will also open bank accounts and get state IDs so that they can be prepared to start working.
Once the family is settled in, JFCS Refugee Employment Specialists work with work-eligible adults in the family to help them understand the workforce in America and apply for jobs. They help clients navigate the interview process, set up a resume, and even help them obtain uniforms or other necessary items for work.
Because of the shortened timeline of the Afghan refugee arrivals, some of these families need longer and additional support to help sustain them while we get a foundation in place, especially permanent housing.
Housing, both temporary and permanent, has been one of the biggest challenges we’ve faced since the Afghan families started arriving. Many community members have stepped up to offer to host temporarily while we look for safe, affordable apartments, and we’ve partnered with hotels to accommodate other families. We’re working with landlords all over the city to find apartments for the new arrivals to rent once they’ve gotten settled in. Many of these landlords have been generous to provide some furniture or kitchen items. Through this crisis, though, several Afghan families have been able to bond with American families who hosted them, and the families that are staying in the hotels have been able to form a community and support each other.
What 2022 Will Bring
We will receive our first new arrivals of 2022 starting January 11th. During the first two weeks of the month, staff will prepare “home kits” with items like toiletries, kitchenware, linens, and cleaning supplies that will be given to each family when they arrive.
We’ll also start our community sponsorship initiative in the new year, with three religious congregations that have committed to partner with us in resettling families. Each organization that we partner with is responsible to help resettle one family, helping with appointments, transportation, cultural orientation, and more.
Community Support
With historic numbers of new arrivals, the community has stepped up to help us reach our goals. We’ve held two major furniture donation days and been able to collect items to furnish homes for our new refugee clients. We’ve also received hundreds of other donations in the forms of toiletries, clothing items, new kitchen supplies, linens, and more.
Through a partnership with the Salvation Army, we’ve been able to store and sort through all of these items to determine what we have for families and what we still need. Volunteers have regularly been helping JFCS staff continue to sort out and move items in the storage space. Volunteers have also stepped up to deliver hot meals when families first arrive in Pittsburgh or to do grocery shopping and housing set ups in preparation for their arrivals.
One of the other initiatives that the community has put together is Afghan food prep events, where volunteers from JFCS, JCC – Center for Loving Kindness, Calvary Church, Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, New Culture Church, and Allison Park Church come together to make Afghan meals that can be frozen and given to families when they first arrive. At the first event, co-owners of the Afghan catering company Zafaron, Mastoorah and Zermina, taught volunteers how to make three different vegetarian dishes–Okra/Bean Stew, Afghan Spinach, and Afghan Chickpeas. At the second event, held at Temple Sinai, the volunteers were able to make these dishes on their own. These events have inspired members of the interfaith group to get involved in other ways as well, with some signing up to volunteer with the resettlement process.
The community support has been key in helping JFCS resettle these Afghan refugees, from making meals to delivering them, donating furniture and household goods, and stepping in to do simple tasks like organizing a storage room.
While 2022 may bring as many challenges as 2021 did, our resettlement team is prepared to continue to help Afghan refugees as they arrive. With the continued support of the community and partner organizations, we’ll be able to help all 263 of these Afghan individuals make Pittsburgh their home.