Avon VFW Seeks Help To Resettle Afghan Refugee Family

Avon VFW Post 3272

AVON, CT — A local VFW post is kicking off a special project this month that aims to help a family escape the chaos of Afghanistan for a less dangerous life locally and it's seeking the public's help.

On Tuesday, Aug. 1, Avon VFW Post 3272 announced the start of its Afghan Refugee Resettlement Project.

The mission is to resettle an Afghan family whose members helped U.S. forces during military operations in Afghanistan.

Such families are currently living in extremely dangerous conditions in Afghanistan because of their support of U.S. and coalition forces.

“We have a moral obligation to help those who helped us, at the risk of their own lives,” said
Tim Healy, commander of Avon VFW Post 3272. “In addition, we want to engage younger veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan, to help them bring their personal involvement in these struggles to a meaningful, satisfying conclusion.

“We’re working as co-sponsors with a group called the Integrated Refugee and Immigration
Services (IRIS),” Healy explained, “whose purpose is to resettle refugee families in
Connecticut. They’ve trained us and given us a blueprint that explains our part of the co-sponsorship."

Healy said the local VFW is looking for about 20-30 volunteers for teams that can work on obtaining housing and employment for the family, medical care, furniture, clothing, Dari/Pashto interpretation, English language training, transportation and cultural introductions.

The post can supply some of the volunteers needed, but "we know that we’ll need the community’s help to get the whole job done properly," said Healy.

He said the post has already obtained a $3,000 grant from the Avon Chapter of UNICO National, the largest Italian-American service organization in America.

Healy said that is "a big step towards reaching our$20,000 funding goal and we are extremely grateful.”

“After we demonstrate that we have teams in place and that we’ve done the necessary planning
and fundraising, we get the ‘green light’ from IRIS and then wait to receive our family. When the family arrives, volunteers spring into action and start working with the family. The whole project is planned to last for one year,” Healy explained.

“Typically, most of that is preparation time. Once the family is here, the objective is to get them to be able to function independently as quickly as possible."

How to help

Healy said those looking to help can join or lead a team, donate household goods, donate or help raise funds for rent, food, clothing, transportation, medical care and other necessary
expenses or, simply, mention the project to others.

“By resettling an Afghan family whose members put their lives on the line for us,” Commander Healy said, “we hope to demonstrate the finest traditions of both our military and civilian communities."

Contact and donation information: Tim Healy, Commander Avon VFW Post 3272, P.O. Box 297, Avon; 860-693-9744; tim.healy@comcast.net.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for this project, with people able to donate any funds toward the $20,000 goal. That can be done at this link.