Local organizations prepare for arrival of Afghan refugees

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Local organizations are preparing for Afghan refugees to come into the Lansing area in the next couple of weeks. They say they are going to need the support of the community to make the transition possible.

“We know the people we’re serving are fleeing terrible situations. Conflict, persecution, violence, war. We know that they need to be in a safe place and we think Lansing is a great place for them, and they’re good for us,” said Director of Refugee Services for St. Vincent Catholic Charities, Judi Harris.

St. Vincent Catholic Charities is filling up garages with furniture donated by the community. Dozens of people stopped by with anything they could contribute to help house incoming refugees.

Donators told News 10 they are thankful to have the power to help.

“I can’t do anything about what’s going on over there, but this is something we can do here,” said donator, Sue Carpenter.

Carpenter says her mother recently passed away and she couldn’t think of a better way to put her mom’s belongings to good use.

“She passed before this happened, but I know she would have said give everything of mine that you guys don’t want to this cause. I know it in my heart. And so, this is making Carol Hash up there smile,” said Carpenter.

St. Vincent representatives say they are always in need of donations to help refugees with rent, language barriers, groceries, and getting to and from their appointments, to name a few. Other organizations are asking for the same.

“We don’t have a lot of money, and we need money to provide support and help to these families when we come here,” said President of Afghan Association of Michigan, Yusuf Sultani.

There are three organizations that are currently accepting donations for refugees. They are:

• Afghan Welcome Fund: https://refugeedevelopmentcenter.org/afghan-welcome-fund/
• St. Vincent Church Refugee Fund https://stvcc.org/services/refugee-services/
• Afghan Association of Michigan https://www.afghanassociationmi.org/

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