Author Topic: Canada's refugee sponsorship: what would it take to make it happen in the US?  (Read 2648 times)

Poundwise

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To me, this program sounds great!

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2017/0130/As-furor-over-refugees-grips-US-Canada-offers-a-different-way-to-integrate

Has anybody personally seen it in action?  How could US citizens make it work?

I mean, obviously the travel ban would have to end. But what if we came up with a reasonable alternative to just shutting out refugees, that made fearful Americans feel more in control of the process? Maybe we're too broken as a country to agree on something sensible, but still could we try?

swick

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To me, this program sounds great!

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2017/0130/As-furor-over-refugees-grips-US-Canada-offers-a-different-way-to-integrate

Has anybody personally seen it in action?  How could US citizens make it work?

Yep, it is an awesome thing to do and a shit ton of work. It is great for bringing community together for a common goal.

The problem with private sponsorship is the government red tape makes it an excruciatingly slow process. We had housing/money everything set up for over a year before we finally got our family. It is done through a lottery system (unless you are sponsoring relatives) which is extremely inefficient and taxing on the people who are trying to organize it. There is way more people willing to help than the government is letting in as refugees.

Most private sponsorship groups turn into nonprofits so there is also the bureaucracy of running a non-profit as well as helping the families. Also fundraising to do to ensure that you can fund the family for the first year. Realistically, one year is not enough time to get the family integrated into the community, especially as many are overcoming torture and abuse, rampant malnutrition and lack of medical care and lack of education and English skills.

So it is more than a 1-year commitment but so worth it! It is personally rewarding and causes a lot of growth as you manage expectations and cultural differences and the needs of the family, the sponsors and the community.

I coordinate all the education and ESL needs for our family. I'd say just doing that small part of it takes me about 10 hours a week in teaching and coordinating. Looking at how much time to translators and medical team put in it is a very heavy investment in time and resources, but like I said, totally worth it!

iris lily

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To me, this program sounds great!

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2017/0130/As-furor-over-refugees-grips-US-Canada-offers-a-different-way-to-integrate

Has anybody personally seen it in action?  How could US citizens make it work?

Yep, it is an awesome thing to do and a shit ton of work. It is great for bringing community together for a common goal.

The problem with private sponsorship is the government red tape makes it an excruciatingly slow process. We had housing/money everything set up for over a year before we finally got our family. It is done through a lottery system (unless you are sponsoring relatives) which is extremely inefficient and taxing on the people who are trying to organize it. There is way more people willing to help than the government is letting in as refugees.

Most private sponsorship groups turn into nonprofits so there is also the bureaucracy of running a non-profit as well as helping the families. Also fundraising to do to ensure that you can fund the family for the first year. Realistically, one year is not enough time to get the family integrated into the community, especially as many are overcoming torture and abuse, rampant malnutrition and lack of medical care and lack of education and English skills.

So it is more than a 1-year commitment but so worth it! It is personally rewarding and causes a lot of growth as you manage expectations and cultural differences and the needs of the family, the sponsors and the community.

I coordinate all the education and ESL needs for our family. I'd say just doing that small part of it takes me about 10 hours a week in teaching and coordinating. Looking at how much time to translators and medical team put in it is a very heavy investment in time and resources, but like I said, totally worth it!

That is so  cool that you are doing this. I dont think a one  year committment is very much at all foe such a big, important thIng. Do other people assist you with this family?
« Last Edit: February 01, 2017, 10:44:32 AM by iris lily »

Poundwise

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Thank you for your response, swick!  It is a very good thing that you do.

I just went looking around to see if there were any private or state groups working on this, found the following article from last year:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/world/refugees-private-sponsors.html?_r=0

Interestingly, it looks like there were volunteer refugee resettlement programs in the US up to the 1970s.  I need to look further into why this changed.


swick

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That is so  cool that you are doing this. I dont think a one  year committment is very much at all foe such a big, important thIng. Do other people assist you with this family?

Yes, it is truly a COMMUNITY effort. We are sponsoring one family from Syria and one from Burma (since the option opened up while we were waiting for our Syrian Family) The Main Committee that handles main fundraising and financials and coordination between the many different parts is about 10 people.

Then each family has their own sub-committee which involves one person coordinating each of the following: Financials, translation, medical care, education and ESL (my job), shopping coordination, driving and transportation. I might be missing a category or two.

There is the local college and other non-profits who are assisting with some extra education and I currently have 4 volunteer ESL teachers/tutors plus myself so they are getting 5 days a week of English instruction, plus taking advantage of some of the low cost and free activities in the community for social engagement.

The college has worked with us to provide a nursing student who is working on her practicum, our local industry has made donations to help with some of the financial costs.

The main committee hosts an International day on Family day as their main fundraiser that showcases all our various ethnic communities. It really is a full community endeavor.

Unfortunately, with the recent shootings in Quebec, it has set us back with establishing the safe feeling for the family we have been trying so hard to cultivate.  All we can do is support.

jrhampt

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There's a group in Connecticut that does something similar: IRIS.org.  You can get together a community group and apply to sponsor a family.

MasterStache

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That is so  cool that you are doing this. I dont think a one  year committment is very much at all foe such a big, important thIng. Do other people assist you with this family?

Yes, it is truly a COMMUNITY effort. We are sponsoring one family from Syria and one from Burma (since the option opened up while we were waiting for our Syrian Family) The Main Committee that handles main fundraising and financials and coordination between the many different parts is about 10 people.

Then each family has their own sub-committee which involves one person coordinating each of the following: Financials, translation, medical care, education and ESL (my job), shopping coordination, driving and transportation. I might be missing a category or two.

There is the local college and other non-profits who are assisting with some extra education and I currently have 4 volunteer ESL teachers/tutors plus myself so they are getting 5 days a week of English instruction, plus taking advantage of some of the low cost and free activities in the community for social engagement.

The college has worked with us to provide a nursing student who is working on her practicum, our local industry has made donations to help with some of the financial costs.

The main committee hosts an International day on Family day as their main fundraiser that showcases all our various ethnic communities. It really is a full community endeavor.

Unfortunately, with the recent shootings in Quebec, it has set us back with establishing the safe feeling for the family we have been trying so hard to cultivate.  All we can do is support.

In the immortal words of today's youth I give you mad props for doing this. I am thankful to live in a "sanctuary city." And I hope to able to contribute more of my time and resources to help anyway I can.

Poundwise

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Thanks for pointing me to IrisCT.org, jrhampt!  Although I don't have the resources yet to do a full sponsorship, I think I might contribute to them.

Swick, your system sounds very sensible and I hope it would alleviate fears that a country would take in more refugees than it could support. And, it is such a good idea to help newcomers build healthy networks. 

Anyway, I think one route to solving this mess lies in examining positive models for integrating immigrants (legal Muslim, illegal Mexican, etc.) into Western countries. 

Poundwise

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I just read this really kickass pair of articles that give a sense of how it would be. Not perfect, very hard, but certainly better than leaving families to die in their home companies or to suffer in refugee camps.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/suleyman-family-finding-a-home-away-from-home/article30703243/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/syrian-refugees-still-struggling-to-settle-in-toronto-after-year-of-governmentsupport/article34785953/


llorona

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The U.S. does this, sort of. In my geographic area (SF Bay Area), the International Rescue Committee brings together groups of volunteers to provide a rental subsidy for refugees, furnish an apartment, and offer resettlement support. One of the key differences between the U.S. and Canada, I believe, is that Canada gives refugees a year to acclimate and find job, whereas the U.S. expects people to start pounding the pavement looking for work as soon as their plane lands.

I haven't participated in this program, but I am volunteering as a professional mentor to help a refugee work on workforce development skills. It's the most worthy thing I've done in a long time.