How to
Help
Adopt a Refugee Family or Individual
ODI’s Refugee Reception Program is
dedicated to supporting the successful and harmonious integration of
refugees and trafficking victims into their new home town of Sacramento
by fostering new relationships between them and volunteers of the
Sacramento Community.
The Refugee Reception Program will provide
families that are well established in the Sacramento region a chance to
introduce the city of Sacramento to a refugee family that has just
arrived to the area. Volunteer families will have the opportunity to
walk their new friends through the available resources of Sacramento
that they will need in order to establish themselves within Sacramento.
The Support You Can Provide:
The goal of this program is to introduce
newly arrived refugees and trafficking victims to Sacramento as well as
help them establish themselves within the community.
In order to reach this goal we will be
asking you to aid us in providing some or all of the following services
depending on your comfort level and availability. Please check off the
help you would be interested in providing for these families. Opening
Doors staff will provide training and ideas, if needed, for the support
tasks below.
* Invite the family
over for dinners These gestures
of hospitality and good will allow them to feel welcomed and cared for
within our Sacramento community. You will be provided with information
on culturally relevant foods.
* Meet the family at the Airport with the case manager
* Help finding the best deals at grocery stores
These families need to make their dollar
stretch so we are asking you to teach them how to use coupons
responsibly, what a good prices are on necessary food items, and where
is the nearest local food bank or soup kitchen is in case their funds
are not sufficient during the month.
* Show them the Free or Low Cost Entertainment options.
Keeping in mind that your new friends
will be on a very strict budget
* Exposing them to low cost clothing stores.
There are many Consignment and Thrift
stores in the Sacramento area that will help these families clothe their
families without breaking the bank.
* Transportation to Doctors Appointments, Social Security, and/or
Welfare Office. It
can be very intimidating to go to
appointments, especially finding the correct office, when you do not
know the language or the area. Having a familiar face with them as they
face these challenges can bring comfort to them. Directions will be
provided.
* Helping them negotiate their housing problems.
With a language barrier as a big
obstacle, refugee families may have trouble getting their landlords to
make necessary repairs on the apartment. You can help them work with
their landlord to improve any problems they might encounter.
* Help these families with the local School system.
Many of these refugee families have young children who need to be
enrolled in school. You will be able to help them set up transportation
to school and apply for free lunch plan and possibly low cost after
school care. We also ask for your help enrolling the adults in ESL
classes to help them become competitive in the job market.
* Help them find a place of Worship
A great comfort to these families is
being able to practice their own religion and becoming part of
this community. You are able to help by researching the location of
local temples/mosques/churches and giving local options of places they
can worship.
* Teach them how to obtain employment
Many refugees will need help writing
their resume, fully understanding their employment application, and
transportation to their interview. Your help will aid this family in
becoming economically self sufficient.
* Navigating public transportation
* Pre-arrival services for Refugee families Welcome kits
are greatly appreciated. Click here for
different kits needed for every refugee and human trafficking victim
