The Uniting for Ukraine program which was set up as a response to the war in Ukraine has resulted in the approval of Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian populations displaced from Ukraine to resettle in the U.S. with humanitarian parole status.
A congregation in Wausau, Wis., formed a co-sponsorship team and completed local co-sponsorship training in late January. Immediately after training, they were matched with a newly arriving Afghan family. Prior to the family’s arrival one problem the local staff faced preparing to receive the family was housing.
ECDC and its 22 local sites implementing the Afghan Placement and Assistance program will be able to provide continued and additional support to Afghan populations with supplemental funding.
As the next step in its launch of a national co-sponsorship program, ECDC held three days of training in the past month for 14 staff from 10 affiliates. During the training, ECDC’s national Community Engagement department shared guidelines, tips, and materials that staff can use to recruit and train co-sponsorship teams.
ECDC is taking steps to increase the participation of local community members in welcoming and integrating newly arriving refugee families by starting up co-sponsorship programs in several locations across its affiliate network.
