$5,130 raised
·51 donations
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Housing Two Afghan Refugees

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We are three retiree volunteers (Mary the lead person, Connie, and Kathleen) collaborating with the International Institute of Los Angeles (IILA), in assisting two Afghani refugees who recently arrived in the Los Angeles area. Akram and Diba (not their real names) are brother-in-law and sister-in-law to each other. Akram (age 39) worked at the Kabul airport and Diba (age 28) was a women’s rights activist. Akram was forced to leave his wife (Diba’s older sister) and his 4 young children behind as he fled for his life. They tried for two days to find each other in the chaos at the gate of the airport but failed. Diba had to leave her parents and 3 siblings, knowing that if she stayed, she would have been killed. They have been assigned to a local resettlement agency and they have a case manager who has a caseload of over 100 people to assist. They were brought into the US along with thousands of other Afghanis under Operation Allies Refuge (OAR). They were issued temporary (2-year) work permits along with social security numbers. This status does not provide a path to legal permanent residence (green card) nor to US citizenship. Their only hope for such a path is to apply for asylum, which they intend to do. Asylum will hopefully provide a way for them to be reunited with their families.
They are currently living at an extended-stay hotel through the resettlement agency. However, this housing will end in 2 months, at which time they are expected to be employed, in an apartment, and self-sufficient. Mission Impossible indeed! The federal program that would have provided 8 months of rent and payment of utilities has dried up completely and is not available.
All 5 of us as a team have worked diligently with IILA the past several weeks to create their new identities here in the US and to access whatever benefits are available. Some of the items that we have made progress on are (to name a few):
  • Applications submitted for low-income public transport card; Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid); CalFresh (California’s version of food stamps); and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) California identification card.
  • Registration and evaluation for English as a Second Language class (ESL) online through Los Angeles Unified School District have been completed and they are currently on Zoom 12 hours per week for class.
  • They successfully renewed their expired passports at the Afghan Consulate in Beverly Hills.
  • They have successfully applied for and become members of a local credit union.
  • They received a complete physical examination including assessment of vision and hearing, lab work, and updating of vaccinations with follow-up scheduled as needed at a local clinic.
  • They have been connected to no-cost counseling.
  • They have received a dental evaluation and will be receiving follow-up dental care at a local dentist.
  • They have applied for and received a Los Angeles Public Library card.

So, here’s where you come in and we are asking for your assistance. We need to raise money to provide rental assistance and to pay utilities for at least 8 months so that they can find a place to rent, get settled, and find jobs. Their plan is to locate to the Canoga Park/Reseda area of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles where a cousin resides with his family and where there is an existing large Afghani community.
Any amount that you can donate would help. You can be assured that Akram and Diba will receive 100% of the funds toward rental assistance and utilities. Any amount raised over our goal will go to continuing this assistance for as long as the funds allow.

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    Organizer

    Connie Vandergriff
    Organizer
    Los Angeles, CA

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