Archive for the ‘LIRS’ Category
Posted by Christopher Coen on March 27, 2012
A single mother of a refugee family from the Central African Republic finds herself alone and isolated (a condition correlated with refugee suicides) five months after resettlement to Portland via Lutheran Community Services Northwest. Interviewed about six weeks after her arrival, she only knew how to get to the grocery store and to an organization which offers employment training and referrals, though her resettlement agency was required to give her community orientation. The family’s apartment is sparsely furnished, with not enough heat to stay warm and little light (this, though the State Department’s Operational Guidance contract document supposedly requires resettlement contractors to provide refugees with one lamp per room unless installed lighting is present). An article in the Portland Tribune describes the refugee family’s initial resettlement to Portland:
Monique Detoloum…[a] new Portland resident has found peace for herself and her four children, after surviving a reign of terror in the Central African Republic and six years in limbo in neighboring Cameroon…
…Monique and her children arrived here in late October, settling in East Portland. They are among the 944 refugees from more than a dozen nations who resettled in Oregon last year, mostly in Portland. Nearly 60,000 refugees from around the world have landed here since 1975. That’s an average of 135 newcomers a month, a steady stream of foreigners who are gradually expanding the Portland area’s ethnic mix and forever changing its complexion…
…Somewhat arbitrarily, since Monique had no family or connections here, she was assigned to Portland, aided by Lutheran Community Services Northwest.
Agency staff picked up Monique’s family at the airport, found her housing in an apartment on Southeast Division Street near 126th Avenue, helped enroll her children into David Douglas schools, arranged medical screenings and financial support.
Within her first week in town, Monique was referred to East Portland’s Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization [IRCO], which offers employment training and referrals, among other services…
…Interviewed about six weeks after her arrival, Monique knew how to get to IRCO and the Winco grocery store on Northeast 122nd Avenue, but hadn’t ventured further on her own. She was too flustered to think about going downtown, feeling pretty helpless without any English skills…
…Now, after five months, here she is still having trouble adjusting to cold weather. She just experienced her first snow, and says she doesn’t like it.
The family’s two-bedroom, one-bath apartment is sparsely furnished, with little light and not enough heat to stay warm…
…Monique has found a Baptist Church she wants to attend. But she says she is feeling isolated here, with no friends to talk to, only her children…
…Refugees rarely go back to their home country, Tauch says, but they do move around once they’re here, especially to find work. In January, a recruiter came to town and offered seasonal jobs to 52 Portland-area refugees at a Kodiak, Alaska, cannery, Tauch says. Last year, a Nebraska employer offered 100 permanent jobs to local refugees… Read more here
Posted in alienation-isolation, Central African Republic, furnishings, lack of, housing, language, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, mental health, Operational Guidance, Portland | Tagged: Central African Republic, Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, irco, isolation, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, Portland, refugees, resettlement | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on March 12, 2012
It’s still not clear to me that the refugee resettlement agencies, as the private sector partners in the US refugee resettlement program, are actually acting as a source of significant private funding for the program., as they so often tout. When I’ve tried to look at the figures I’ve found little information available, and what is available does not show significant private funds. An article in the Utica Observer-Dispatch discusses the changing economic needs of the local refugee resettlement agency — the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees:
UTICA — During the past 30 years, the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees has resettled people from 31 countries.
At its height in 1997, the center welcomed more than 1,000 Bosnians. During the past five years, the center has resettled an average of 500 refugees per year, most of whom have been Karen/Burmese refugees.
As the center continues to welcome new refugees who often become citizens and grow their families here, the Utica area – known as the city that loves refugees – must look at this group and its impact in a new way while it morphs into one culture.
Here’s a look at how the center is contributing to that process:…
…The refugee center devised a plan that would keep it relevant as not only a resource for new arriving refugees but for a community that reflects a change in its cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity.
Foreseeing that need, the board created objectives three years ago focusing on services that would promote cultural identity, increase access to interpreting and cultural awareness training, and provide opportunities for the community to become unified. That led to the creation of Compass Cultural Institute, an interpreting service program and cultural competence training service that’s been active in local hospitals, schools and workplaces.
“If we just depended on financial income coming only from resettling refugees [emphasis added] and continued to do that five or 10 years ago and not try to move in a different direction and provide other services to them, we would be in a different position,” refugee center board President Robert Dicks said… Read more here
Should they “depend” on refugee resettlement for the organization’s financial income or should they be bringing significant private funding to the program? There should be enough transparency in the resettlement program so that we can look at these private funding figures. Secondly, refugees have always needed other services and support beyond the initial resettlement period, so shouldn’t these services have been built into every resettlement agency a long time ago? I know that organizations have to make sure the numbers work but the emphasis should always have been on refugees’ needs.
Posted in former Yugoslav republics, funding, Karen, Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, Utica | Tagged: funding, Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, refugees, resettlement, Utica | 2 Comments »
Posted by Christopher Coen on February 20, 2012
Con artists continue their evil ways with our refugee population, looking to victimize those who are the most vulnerable. Scams include selling immigration forms (these forms are free), and taking money for green cards, 1-94 cards and the immigrant lottery (and then disappearing with the money). Refugees may report scams anonymously, by using the website uscis.gov, or by calling 1-877-382-4357. An article in the Union Leader explains the various cons and how refugees can report them:
…Scams…are occurring daily across New Hampshire and other states, according to local Immigration officials…
“There are people out there that are victimizing members of [the refugee and immigrant] community because they think they won’t be a good witness,” said Alfred Rubega, assistant U.S. attorney for New Hampshire. “I think they are going to find out pretty quickly in New Hampshire that is not at all a good idea.”
On Wednesday, authorities held a news conference to explain the Unlawful Practice of Immigration Law Initiative, a program intended to help catch con artists. The initiative is a joint effort among the USCIS, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.
The initiative is built on three pillars: enforcement, education and collaboration. It is intended to stop scams and prosecute those responsible; educate immigrants about scams and how to avoid them; and inform immigrants about the proper, legal immigration process and where to find legitimate legal advice and representation…
…Different cons
One of the more popular scams uses websites to advertise immigration services or pertinent forms for a fee. One clue a website is phony is when it ends in anything other than the “.gov” tag.
“We’ve heard reports that people have fallen victim to these bogus websites,” said Simon Abi Nader, field office director for USCIS’ Bedford branch. “The simple reason is that the general public does not know the difference between ‘.gov’ and ‘.com,’ which is a public domain. The government owns .gov, and no one can imitate that. All USCIS forms are free.”…
…Community groups helping to prevent scams say immigrants in New Hampshire have been fleeced out of thousands of dollars. Cathy Chesley, director of Catholic Charities Office of Immigration and Refugee Services, said she has seen many victims.
“I know one family that’s out $7,000,” said Chesley. “Just gone.”…
…One example
One man accidentally let I-94 cards — temporary visas — for his entire family go through the laundry in his jeans, said Amy Marchildon, director of Services for Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire. “He paid someone $2,000 to replace one card, and nothing happened,” she said. The legitimate cost of replacing an I-94 is $365.
One immigrant applied for the State Department’s lottery visa program, Nader said.
“This person worked with someone who said they would help her get the papers for the lottery. For months down the road, she received this email saying that she won the lottery and that the next step is you send me $2,500 money order and wire it this way,” Nader said…
…The person disappeared, and her $2,500 disappeared with them.”…
…Nader said individuals could report scams anonymously, by using the website uscis.gov, or by calling 1-877-382-4357… Read more here
Posted in USCIS, New Hampshire, immigration services, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, safety, immigration documents, visa lottery, Catholic Charities (Manchester), scams | Tagged: refugees, catholic charities, resettlement, USCIS, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, green card, 1-94 card, immigrant lottery, Unlawful Practice of Immigration Law Initiative | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on February 13, 2012
Its clear that political officials in various declining US regions have decided that our country’s humanitarian refugee resettlement program should be used in concert with these cities’ needs. A major Utica publication backs this assertion up with few questions asked. (I like the efficiency of killing two stones with one bird, but what about giving the refugees a say in the matter?)
Apparently the UNHCR has also used its own propaganda on refugees, via its Refugee publication, to make them think that Utica is some sort of paradise – christening it “The town that loves refugees” – even though the unemployment and poverty rates are high, and gangs vie for the loyalty of young refugees. A Utica refugee resettlement agency also sings it own praises as “a one-stop shop for services” (I’ve heard this issue from journalists in other cities who say that local resettlement agencies also put that issue front and center — seems diversionary. Why does it merit public discussion?)
On the other hand some Utica locals apparently believe dubious rumors that refugees take people’s jobs, are given free houses, and don’t pay taxes for seven years (that’s a new one). An editorial in The Utica Post-Standard shows the paper’s editorial board as apparently 100 percent behind the region’s use of refugees to increase the population:
Like many Rust Belt cities, Utica was declining in the 1980s and ’90s. A city that once numbered more than 100,000 citizens dropped perilously close to 50,000.
Then a remarkable thing happened: First a trickle, then a steady stream of refugees began arriving…They kept on coming, because they found a warm reception.
“We foster conditions that make for a welcoming environment,” says Peter Vogelaar, executive director of the Mohawk Valley Resource Center…
…Vogelaar explained why the city has been an ideal refugee haven. Utica’s infrastructure accommodates the new arrivals…Then there’s the resettlement center itself — “a one-stop shop for services,” Vogelaar says.
An article in the U.N. publication “Refugee” calls Utica “The town that loves refugees.” And the 14,000 refugees who came over the past 30 years returned the favor. They bought houses — many of them vacant — fixed them up and began paying property taxes. They planted community gardens and started successful businesses. The city’s ethnic restaurants are winning wide acclaim…
…Resettlement has not been problem-free. Housing prices are rising faster than some would like. Gangs vie for the loyalty of young refugees. New immigrants keep the poverty rate high, and schools struggle with students who still need to learn English.
Some still cling to stereotypes, Vogelaar added. “That darn foreigner takes my job, is given a house, doesn’t pay taxes for seven years — it’s all false rumors,” he said. “They get labeled ‘problem people.’ The reality is, they have faced untold problems, yet they are the resilient ones. They came through it all to make new lives.”… Read more here
Posted in employment/jobs for refugees, Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, population levels, using refugees as pawns to boost, safety, UN (United Nations), UNHCR, Utica | Tagged: Mohawk Valley Resource Center, population decline, refugees, resettlement, UNHCR, Utica | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on February 3, 2012
A University of New Hampshire Law professor told a state House committee that a bill for a proposed one-year moratorium on refugee resettlement is probably unconstitutional. He said that the moratorium provision raises constitutional questions because it singles out a particular class of legal residents. He contrasted the bill with another that became law in Tennessee last year. A Union Leader article has more
CONCORD — A bill allowing communities to impose a one-year moratorium on refugee resettlements is probably unconstitutional, a law professor told a House committee Thursday.
House Bill 1405 had both its supporters and detractors at a public hearing Thursday before the House Municipal and County Government Committee…
…The bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Laura Pettengill, R-Glen, told the committee the legislation is similar to one passed in Tennessee…
But University of New Hampshire Law professor Albert Scheer told the committee the moratorium provision raises constitutional questions because it singles out a particular class of legal residents.
He cited a 1941 U.S. Supreme Court case involving a California law forbidding indigent residents from other states from settling in California.
He also said states cannot pass laws that conflict with the “federal framework.” The refugee resettlement program is under the direction of the State Department.
Scheer said the Tennessee bill did not include the moratorium provision when it finally passed…
…Representatives of Lutheran Social Services of New England and the International Institute of New Hampshire spoke against the bill. Read more here
Posted in International Institute of New Hampshire, legislation, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, moratorium / restriction, New Hampshire, State Department, Tennessee | Tagged: bill, International Institute of New Hampshire, legislation, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, moratorium, New Hampshire, refugees, resettlement, State Department, unconstitutional | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on December 3, 2011
Once again there has been a tragedy involving refugees and a van rollover. One refugee from Myanmar is dead and two others were seriously injured in an accident near Rushmore, Minnesota. The killed and injured were on their way to meatpacking jobs in Worthington. An article in the Argus Leader has the story:
Myanmar immigrants, persecuted for years, have found happiness in Sioux Falls, says a priest who works with some of the newcomers.
But for the past two weeks, grief has subdued the joyousness they have felt.
One member of their community died Nov. 19 in a one-vehicle rollover near Rushmore, Minn.
Two other passengers remain hospitalized in Sioux Falls, beginning what could be weeks of rehabilitation.
Three families are suffering, says the Rev. Paul King of St. Lambert Catholic Church…
…“For Bya Reh’s family, he was the only wage earner. His eldest son is going to school.”
Reh, 48, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which happened at 2:47 p.m. on a Saturday. Eight people, including the driver, were traveling on Interstate 90 on a surface that had been made slick by freezing rain that started earlier in the day.
The group was traveling to their jobs at JBS Swift & Co. meat-packing plant in Worthington. Five of the passengers were Sudanese, King says. The other two Burmese on the van were Oo Meh, 30, and Beh Reh, 51. Bya Reh and Beh Reh are not related.
The two men and Meh are members of the Karenni, a minority group in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma…
…Bya Reh, whose funeral was Nov. 23, the day before Thanksgiving, leaves behind a wife and four children, a 23-year-old daughter and three sons, ages 21, 13 and 12.
Beh Reh, who spent a week at Sanford Health in critical condition, broke a hip in the accident and also suffered bruised ribs, a bruised heart and a severe blow to his head.
“He’s still quite confused and agitated,” King says. “He was on a respirator for most of last week. He’s able to talk but quite confused.”
Beh Reh is married with four children. His daughters are ages 21 and 11 with two sons ages 19 and 15.
Meh and her husband both work at the meatpacking plant. They took opposite shifts so someone could be home with their children, daughters ages 12 and 4 and a son who is about 8. She sustained fractures along her spine and broke her pelvis….
…The three families moved to Sioux Falls less than three years ago and have struggled to find work… Read more here
In the past several years there have also been van rollover accidents with refugees in Arizona, central Georgia (and here), and north Georgia.
Posted in Burma/Myanmar, Karenni, Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota, meatpacking industry, passenger van roll-over, Sudanese | Tagged: Burma, JBS Swift & Co, karenni, meat packing, Myanmar, refugees, resettlement, roll-over, van, Worthington | 1 Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on November 30, 2011
Although the US refugee resettlement program does not mandate mental health screenings for refugees, some resettlement locations have provided these screenings, such as Utica, New York. Refugees there, however, will no longer get the screenings since services which are not mandated are the first to go during budget cuts. An Observer-Dispatch article gives the details:
Mid-year funding cuts by the financially struggling state are hitting social programs that help the mentally ill.
Some programs that received money through the Oneida County Department of Mental Health are seeing their funding dry up at the end of the year, while others are seeing steep reductions.
Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente didn’t hold out much hope that the money might be restored.
“It’s the consequences of the state cuts,” he said. “We can obviously fight for it, but it’s one of those areas that aren’t going to get resolved.”
Among the cuts:…
…* The Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees is losing $38,583, which funded mental health screenings for refugees…
…State funds for the county Mental Health department have been slashed from $9,542,793 in 2011 to $9,122,378 in 2012, budget documents show.County officials said the department had to cut programs that do not provide mandated services.
Mental health advocates said the cuts might save money in the short term but will cost more in the end.
“It ends with people unfortunately losing services, ending up in emergency rooms, homeless or in the criminal justice system,” said Glenn Liebman, of the Mental Health Association of New York State. “No one wants those outcomes, and it’s more costly for the taxpayers.”… Read more here
Posted in mental health, Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, Utica | Tagged: budget cuts, mental health screening, Oneida County, refugees, resettlement, Utica | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on November 17, 2011
Some immigrants from Burma/Myanmar opened The Burma Center, a community center, last month in a central location in Battle Creek, Michigan. It serves as a place for reading/interpreting mail, learning English, congregating with friends, and has a playgroup for children. The federal government has resettled about 1,100 refugees from Burma/Myanmar in the Battle Creek area so far. An article in Battle Creek Inquirer gives more details:
For a growing population of Burmese people leaving their homeland to make their roots in Battle Creek, there’s now a central location for help with things Americans take for granted – reading mail, learning English and congregating with friends.
The Burma Center: Burmese American Initiative is a new community center for people of Burmese descent, who have left their country and moved to the Cereal City…
…About 1,100 Burmese people now live in the Battle Creek area.
Martha Thawnghmung, the center’s director, said she’s been looking forward to the opening of the center for many years. She’s part of one of the first families to move from Burma to Battle Creek, she said…
…The center, at 4317 W. Dickman Road in Springfield, opened in October…
…So far, on a weekly basis English as a Second Language classes and a playgroup are being held there… Read more here
Posted in Battle Creek, Burma/Myanmar, Lutheran Social Services of Michigan | Tagged: Battle Creek, Burma, community center, Myanmar, refugees, resettlement | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on November 15, 2011
Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas seems to have a take no prisoners approach to his ongoing war against the International Institute of New Hampshire. Mr. Gastas is now trying to cut refugee support services statewide. In the past he and another City of Manchester city alderman claimed they were concerned that refugees were not receiving adequate services by the International Institute – which is something that concerns me as well. Yet, how would that square with cutting more services? An article in the Concord Monitor has the story:
Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas has been lobbying members of the Executive Council to vote against contracts for agencies that work with resettled refugees.
The contracts allow the Department of Health and Human Services to give federal funds to Lutheran Social Services and the International Institute of New England for work the groups do with refugees resettled in New Hampshire by the U.S. State Department.
Earlier this year, Gatsas - who could not be reached for comment last week – had asked the State Department to stop sending refugees to his city, so officials there could establish better services to help them.
The International Institute works primarily with refugees in Manchester, and has resettled more than 1,380 there. Lutheran Social Services works in Concord, Laconia and Nashua.
The two state contracts with Lutheran Social Services total $175,000, one for school-related services through August 2012, and one for preventive health services through August 2014, according to Health and Human Services Commissioner Nick Toumpas.
The contracts represent about half of Lutheran Social Services’ refugee program budget, Lutheran administrator Amy Marchildon said.
“It’s certainly a concern for us that the mayor of one community would try to exert influence on operations outside of his community,” she said… Read more here
Posted in International Institute of New Hampshire, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, moratorium / restriction, New Hampshire, State Department | Tagged: concord, International Institute, Lutheran social services, manchester, refugees, resettlement, State Department, Ted Gatsas, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, USCRI | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on November 1, 2011
As if the difficulties for refugees in adjusting to a new culture weren’t hard enough – while dealing with the heavy emotional baggage that stems from loss of family, loss of home, and extended periods in refugee camps – the US refugee resettlement program continues to place many of them in crime-ridden neighborhoods where the refugees fear for their lives. Thus, exacerbating mental health conditions (I have lobbied with the State Department for change in this issue since 2001 – see a 2005 letter). Philadelphia is one of the problem resettlement sites. An article in NewsWorks has the story:
War, torture, loss of family and friends–refugees arriving in the United States often carry heavy emotional baggage. Then they endure the strains of adjusting to a new culture. Agencies working with refugees new to Philadelphia are puzzling out how to help this population cope with its burdens…
…Refugees may have experienced loss of family, loss of home, arduous flight, extended periods in refugee camps, and then all of the challenges around readjustment.
For Khin Khin, who is from Burma, the readjustment struggles began right away. She fled to the U.S. with her husband, who was persecuted in Burma for his political activities. Arriving in Philadelphia, a service agency set her family up in a temporary apartment in a very bad neighborhood. “I know that America is not heaven, but we think that we can live very safely, but my husband when we first arrived, he was robbed,” recalled Khin Khin. “He was so scared to call the police because that guy said, ‘if you call the police I will kill you’, so he is so scared.”
Khin Khin remembers hearing gunfire all the time. She felt isolated, since no other Burmese families lived nearby. She had a sick infant, who required several surgies. At times, stress, anxiety and worry were and still are overwhelming. During a recent physical, she says her doctors recommended counseling. Khin Khin says she was told to share her feelings with a therapist, but she doesn’t want to do that because she is too shy… Read more here
Posted in Burma/Myanmar, cultural adjustment, dangerous neighborhoods, Lutheran Children and Family Service (Philadelphia), mental health, Philadelphia, reform, safety, State Department | Tagged: Burma, crime, dangerous neighborhoods, mental health, Myanmar, Philadelphia, refugees, resettlement, State Department, U.S. Department of State | Leave a Comment »
Christopher Coen
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