'We're not pulling back' from helping refugees, LDS leader says as First Presidency increases budget

[ksfisher]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865676059/Were-not-pulling-back-from-helping-refugees-LDS-leader-says-as-First-Presidency-increases-budget.html

Looking for some ideas, what has your ward done to help refugees?

(And it would be nice to limit the discussion to ways to help and not critique the program)

Edited March 21, 2017 by ksfisher

[Buckeye]

We held a fireside and some wards have done small things like care packages for mutual. If you're looking for ideas start with justserve.org. Lots of the posts there are for humanitarian and refugee help (at least in my area).

[probablyHagoth7]

...

Edited March 21, 2017 by probablyHagoth7

[ksfisher]

3 minutes ago, Buckeye said:

We held a fireside and some wards have done small things like care packages for mutual. If you're looking for ideas start with justserve.org. Lots of the posts there are for humanitarian and refugee help (at least in my area).

Our stake has been introduced to the JustServe program, but I hadn't thought of looking there for refugee service ideas.  Thank you.

Edited March 21, 2017 by ksfisher

[probablyHagoth7]

23 minutes ago, ksfisher said:

...what has your ward done to help refugees?..

Dunno. 

But a small local congregation houses & feeds homeless men. Gives them guidance and encouragement. And helps them in several ways to become self sufficient.

(Does something as headline-resistant and non-trendy as helping rebuild local homeless people still count as helping refugees?)

[VideoGameJunkie]

Im in a singles ward and my stake has done nothing.

[Calm]

VGJ,

How hard have you tried to find out if someone in the stake has done something?  Perhaps they did it on a ward level in a different ward.  Can you be sure you would have found out?

[Rain]

On Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at 2:13 PM, ksfisher said:

Our stake has been introduced to the JustServe program, but I hadn't thought of looking there for refugee service ideas.  Thank you.

This is one of the best ways to do it. Many of these organizations got overwhelmed with calls after the church announced working with the refugees. Many people and groups come in and basically say, "we want to do a project and this is what we are going to do" often creating more work for the organizers in an area they don't need the most help, but they are afraid to say no, because they want people to feel good and help down the road.

By going to just serve people can find out what the needs are already and do something that helps the organization most. Remember also to not just go there and find out what the project is, but use the volunteer button to sign up how the organization wants you to sign up. Depending on how they wanted things set up this is often MUCH easier for them. 

All that said, this is for the organizations. If you have refugees living in ward or stake areas you can help them on your own as a ward. Befriend them, help them find jobs. Some don't yet have cars or even phones - help them get to the store for groceries. Some of them are Muslim - find places where they can buy halal meat etc. - when they move in that may be difficult for them to figure out where to go. 

Keep in mind that the refugees may not be housed near you. The majority in my area are housed 30-45 minutes away. That is where the services are, where housing runs less expensive, where there are others that can help them through. You may need to share helping them so the same person isn't traveling as far every time. Or some people may need to find something else to do or some people may just need to be ok going further - whatever fits for the person serving. 

[Calm]

Since another thread got locked before I got a chance to post this, it seems appropriate to post it here.

Maria Augusta Von Trapp:

http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/about-us/promref/3b7255163f/von-trapp-maria-agusta-family.html

"Overnight we had become really poor; we had become refugees. A refugee not only has no country, he also has no rights. He is a displaced person. At times he feels like a parcel which has been mailed and is moved from place to place.”