In response to the global refugee crisis, a group of area
residents has applied to sponsor a refugee family in Ridgefield in partnership with
Integrated Immigration and Refugee Services (IRIS), a non-profit agency that
has been resettling refugees in Connecticut for over 30 years. This local
group, the Refugee Resettlement Committee—Ridgefield (RRCR), will host
information sessions for the public at the Ridgefield Library on Tuesday,
August 9 at 7pm and Thursday, September 15 at 10am.
“People have come to the effort out of
concern for the massive refugee problem in the world today and the chance to
make a small positive effect on the problem by helping one family restart their
lives in the U.S.,” says Mike Rettger, who co-chairs the committee with Ann
O’Brien. According to IRIS, there are 19
million refugees in the world today, the largest number since World War
II. After an in-depth vetting process which
typically lasts over two years, the U.S. Government invites 85,000 women, children,
and men to become Americans each year. That number will increase to 100,000 in
2017. Eight hundred are arriving in Connecticut this year; 400 of them will be
welcomed by IRIS and its more than 50 state-wide co-sponsors. These refugees
will arrive legally, fully documented, with many skills, but often without
English and without much money.
As an IRIS co-sponsor, the
RRCR will secure affordable housing and collect furniture and other household
items. Committee members will also help the family learn to navigate the
community, including enrolling children in school, facilitating job searches
and language training, and performing other necessary tasks, such as driving.
The goal is that the family be relatively self-sufficient in six months. During
that first six months, however, they will need help with living expenses, so
the committee is looking to raise $15,000 for the family. “We would like to
have logistics and funds in place by mid-September so that it could welcome a
family by October or November,” notes Rettger.
To learn more about the
process and how to get involved, come to an information session or contact the
committee at RRCRidgefield@gmail.com. To make a
tax-deductible donation, go to the ‘online giving’ tab at www.ststephens-ridgefield.org,
which is managing donations on behalf of the committee.
