Update: First Syrian family to arrive in Greensboro living in hotel, here.
This is follow-up story to our post of a few days ago where we learned that Syrians are arriving in the Triad area of North Carolina. Resettlement contractor World Relief/Evangelicals expects 30-100 this next year (the fiscal year begins October 1).
Our top post for the last six days is this one about the State Department spokesperson’s comment that thousands of Syrians had been selected by the UN for resettlement to the US. The largest percentage will be Sunni Muslims.
Refugees are not self-sufficient in 90 days as World Relief says below, but have been connected to “services.” See our fact sheet for the list of social services (aka welfare) available to refugees. They will be deemed self-sufficient even as they remain on most forms of welfare.
From the Winston-Salem Journal:
Organizations such as World Relief and Church World Service work with the U.S. State Department to resettle refugees from around the world. [Both “church” organizations are actually federal contractors.–ed]
Timbie said World Relief High Point typically resettles 400 to 450 refugees in the High Point and Winston-Salem area each year. He expects to assist anywhere from 30 to 100 refugees from Syria in the next year.
The government provides money to help these families make it through their first few months in the United States. World Relief employees provide job skill and language training and help the refugees find jobs with local companies and connect to services.
“Our job is to make them self-sufficient within 90 days,” Timbie said.
That does not mean that they are on their own, Timbie said. It just means they are not relying on that upfront money.