Chris Lieberman, FISM News
On Monday, the State Department launched a new program that will allow private citizens to sponsor Afghan refugees in order to aid the resettlement of tens of thousands of Afghans who fled to the U.S. after the Taliban took over Afghanistan this summer.
The department is partnering with Community Sponsorship Hub (CSH) to form the new program, the Sponsor Circle Program for Afghans. The program will allow groups, or “circles,” of at least five American adults to sponsor Afghan refugees and assist them in accessing necessities such as food, housing, and education.
“Following the historic airlift and evacuation effort, Operation Allies Welcome has introduced tens of thousands of our Afghan partners to the United States,” said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in a press statement. “Americans of all walks of life have expressed strong interest in helping to welcome these individuals. The Sponsor Circle Program for Afghans harnesses this outpouring of support and enables individuals to become directly involved in the welcome and integration of our new neighbors.”
Currently, there are approximately 55,000 Afghan refugees staying on military bases across the country. Many of them are sleeping in tents or on cots and have limited access to toilets and showers. The government’s resettlement efforts have progressed slowly due to increased demand and limited resources, which is why the State Department is turning to American citizens for help.
To qualify to be a part of the program, all members of the sponsor circle must pass a background check, raise $2,275 per refugee to cover expenses for the first 90 days of resettlement, take a “knowledge test,” and submit a plan of how they will assist their sponsored refugee.
Once approved, the program will provide training to the sponsorship circle, who will then be matched with an Afghan refugee or family. Sponsors will then be responsible to meet the needs of their refugees for a minimum of 90 days. Refugees in the program will still be eligible for government assistance, such as Medicaid, food assistance, and English lessons.
Refugee advocates lauded the move, which both expands the government’s capacity to resettle refugees and allows the American public to personally engage in the process. Many have long pushed for such a model of private citizens sponsoring refugees directly, which has already been used in Canada.
Sarah Krause, executive director of CSH, said that after an “outpouring of support for Afghan refugees,” the program is a “concrete way to translate this support into immediate opportunities to welcome more Afghans.” She then said, “By offering opportunities to sponsor a family, this program will create enduring bonds between Afghans and the communities that welcome them.”
For more information on the Sponsor Circle Program and to learn how to apply to form a sponsor circle to support arriving Afghans, visit www.sponsorcircles.org.