In an article, one of MANY I am seeing, refugee contractors are complaining that they can’t find enough housing for the Afghan evacuees most states, including New Hampshire, are welcoming.
Ten days ago, I reported on the lack of affordable housing for Biden’s newest wave of ‘new Americans,’ see here:
I found this particular story at the Concord Monitor interesting, and useful for readers, because it demonstrates the web of resettlement agencies and sub-agencies that may have you confused.
Agency struggles to find housing for Afghan evacuees coming to New Hampshire
The agency responsible for coordinating the arrival of Afghan evacuees to New Hampshire is struggling to find places for them to live just as they are set to arrive in the Concord area.
Memory lane! Ascentria (formerly Lutheran Social Services of New England) made news here at RRW when its then new President and CEO, Angela Bovill stated publicly that refugee resettlement was a “business”—a business that needed federal cash to survive. We knew that, but it was a big deal when Bovill admitted it. Just checked their recent IRS Form 990*** and wow! Bovill pulls down an annual salary package of $300,000! Doing well by doing good! https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2017/07/19/refugee-contractors-increasingly-admitting-they-cant-survive-without-your-money/
Crissie Ferrara, the program manager for services for New Americans at Ascentria Care Alliance, said a mother with five daughters will be moving soon, and likely staying with another family. Two individual men will also likely be arriving in Concord soon. Ferrara’s organization is responsible for finding housing for refugees and humanitarian evacuees, like the ones coming from Afghanistan.
Ferrara said that Ascentria has received an outpouring of support from people willing to share rooms in their homes with those coming from Afghanistan. Ideally, new families and individuals would be able to have the autonomy and independence of renting their own private housing, located near services in Concord.
The organization’s online form for landlords or property owners who want to provide housing to Afghan arrivals in New Hampshire and Massachusetts explains that independent affordable apartment housing options will be prioritized over people offering to host people in their homes. [What the heck! Let people take them to their homes! After all, what could go wrong!—ed]
Ferrara said Ascentria has suggested that single men without family in the United States be sent to [white rural!–ed] New Hampshire first, including men who may have made friends with another individual during the eviction [evacuation?] process.
See that there are additional ‘non-profits’ in on the action.
Use my search window for over two dozen post on New Hampshire—the ‘Live Free or Die’ state.
*** Most recent IRS Form 990 is here. Take a look at those salaries beginning on page 7! As I have said before, tell your kids to grow up to be executives at non-profit do-gooder religious charities!
Editor: I started this post yesterday, but couldn’t finish it as RRW went down for awhile making me very nervous. I don’t know what that was about, but it seems to be working fine today. Sure hope you didn’t experience any problems visiting.
I told you back in January that Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota had filed for bankruptcy after getting mired in some affordable housing scheme that is too complex to bother with here.
In the process they are losing their fancy and expensive building, a building I saw in my 2016 travels to the state.
So the assumption was that refugee flow into the state was going to be halted at least for awhile.
You might recall that North Dakota’s Republican governor did NOT support President Trump’s effort at reforming the Refugee Admissions Program by allowing local and state governments to have some say in the process of determining the target sites for resettlement.
That brings us to the latest breaking news as Fargo’s Valley News Live says that refugees are being placed in Fargo:
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Fargo City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn said Tuesday that he sat in on a phone call in which Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services stated that they had resettled approximately 25 refugees in Fargo-Moorhead. Deputy Mayor Piepkorn shared concern that he had not been made aware of the resettlement and he questioned whether the City of Fargo was notified prior to rehoming the refugees.
Too funny! NOT! The woman who ran LSSND as it was financially crashing is now working for the governor!
Questions have been raised as to how the action was coordinated. Prior to filing bankruptcy, Lutheran Social Services (LSS) was tasked with refugee resettlement in the state.
Former LSS Director, Jessica Thomasson, now works as the Executive Policy Director at ND Department of Human Services.
The country of origin of the refugees was not made known. In a recent interview with Chris Berg, Gov. Burgum stated that he was open to resettling refugees in the state but he was unaware of any plan to resettle undocumented immigrants from the southern border.
Be sure to watch Chris Berg’s interview with Fargo City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn where Piepkorn says he doubts anyone was notified and mentioned specifically the school system.
In response to Deputy Mayor Piepkorn….
President Trump’s failed reform initiative sought to give local governments an opportunity to review plans for resettlement in their jurisdictions with a yes or no sign-off, governors would also have to approve or disapprove the plan.
Shockingly, most Republican governors, including North Dakota’s Doug Burgum, did not back the President’s efforts to shore-up their Tenth Amendment states’ rights.
Here is one of many, many posts on the feckless Republican governors:
At present local governments are supposed to be consulted, but I will bet that the resettlement agency only talked to friendly “stakeholders” in the process of preparing an “abstract” that must be submitted to the US State Department in advance of placements in a given location.
Any elected official should be able to request permission to attend a stakeholder meeting and be permitted to see a recent R & P Abstract prepared by a local resettlement contractor.
Of course, in the case of ND (with no agency operating at the moment), one would most likely go to the state’s Department of Human Services for the most recent Abstract and a schedule of stakeholder meetings.
LOL! that would be the agency now headed by former LSS CEO Thomasson.
One final note: For years we were able to see which refugees went to which towns and cities on an almost daily basis and all the way back to 2002. That database is no longer available. It was shuttered during Trump’s tenure. The feds claimed the website is being overhauled.
Except for the most recent arrivals in the present fiscal year, we are left completely in the dark about the numbers, nationalities and resettlement locations of thousands and thousands of refugee arrivals.
Here is the news (welcomed by those North Dakotans who have been strenuously objecting to the placement of more impoverished third worlders into their state).
Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota to close its doors; 283 jobs will be affected
FARGO — Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota CEO and President Bob Otterson told employees in a company-wide video meeting Friday, Jan. 15, that the 102-year-old agency will be closing its doors.
In an emotional exchange, Otterson — who has been in the position for only 45 days — told employees that, due to the heavy drain on resources caused by LSSND’s housing department, the agency could no longer survive. Otterson said the ongoing financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic also compounded the agency’s financial difficulties.
Otterson said several LSSND programs will continue, including the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program and Abound Counseling, but they will no longer be known as part of the agency.
Otterson said that as part of the agency’s controlled liquidation plan, many employees will receive notification that their jobs have ended today, but some staff will continue working for several more weeks to help transition clients to other agencies.
Keep reading, apparently they got out on a financial limb in the housing industry (I’ve never understood the housing industry involvement refugee contractors have gotten into.).
The scope of social services LSS offers is broad, including counseling, aid for youth and families, and affordable housing. However, in recent years, the organization is perhaps most often associated with refugee resettlement.
It’s taken criticism over the number of refugees who have come to North Dakota, in recent years in particular.
To learn more about the huge controversy over refugees in North Dakota see my archive on the state.
See LSSND’s most recent IRS Form 990 byclicking here. Note that in an income stream in that most recent year of $18 million, over $8 million came from government grants (that of course is you, the taxpayers!).
Here is a screenshot of their income page. Be sure to scroll through to see salaries and other expenses.
I never thought of it before, but I wonder if taxpayers in ND can ask for an audit of where all the grant money came from and where it went.
By the way, LSSND was a subcontractor of one of the big nine federal contractors, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. The US State Department funnels refugees through one of the big nine which in turn funnels federal dollars and refugees to its so-called affiliates (aka subcontractors).
That map above locates the subcontractors and identifies who their motherships are.
For new readers here are the top nine supposed charities that put refugees before American citizens.
Resettled refugees haven’t been doing so well as the Chinese Virus continues to wreck the US economy, but nevermind, Biden has promised 125,000 more impoverished third worlders for Americans to take care of in the coming year.
Every time you see a sob story like this one in the mainstream media you should be firing off a letter to the editor and asking:
Has [city or state, fill in the blank!] run out of poor, jobless, homeless, hungry Americans?
Even it you know the letter won’t be published you are educating the editor!
Recognizing that Americans are hurting and should be taken care of first, President Trumpfurther reduced the number of needy people the country could manage in 2021, but Biden/Harris are putting Americans LAST as they promise the largest influx of refugees America has seen in many decades and far in excess of those Obama admitted.
(And, with his past actions, Arizona’s Republican Governor Ducey has signaled his agreement with Biden!)
Tucson agencies support of refugees challenging during pandemic
Since many recently-arrived refugees work in hard-hit industries such as hospitality, food service and transportation, they are among those greatly impacted by the pandemic, officials say
President-elect Joe Biden has said he will increase that cap to 125,000. Arizona resettlement agencies expect that cap to climb over time, allowing them to readjust and prepare for more arrivals in the future.
Nationally, Arizona is one of the highest states for resettlement, Prescott said. The IRC and Lutheran Social Services are among the organizations that provide a number of resources for newly arrived refugees, including job placement, enrolling children in school, finding and furnishing housing, and social services and community support.
[….]
Connie Phillips, CEO of Lutheran Social Services Southwest. https://socialwork.asu.edu/content/connie-phillips-eary
“When the pandemic first came last spring, it really threw our refugee clients into quite a crisis,” said Phillips of Lutheran Social Services. “Between the community and the staff’s ability to be innovative and to pivot, I think we were successful in providing for basic needs and responding to the immediate crisis.”
Since many recently arrived refugees work in hard-hit industries such as hospitality, food service and transportation, they are among those greatly impacted by the pandemic, Prescott said.
Refugees have lost their jobs, so have Americans!
More than 40% of the resettled refugees that Lutheran Social Services has assisted lost their jobs since the pandemic hit, Phillips said.
Arizona resettlement agencies addressed these issues by helping those who lost their jobs find new employment, as well as distributing food and supplies.
They also supplied refugees with information about economic relief programs for which they might qualify, such as rent and utility assistance through the city of Tucson.
Refugees’ living conditions mean they get more COVID says the IRC community engagement coordinator, and as the “most vulnerable people” need extra attention:
International Rescue Committee community engagement coordinator Stanford Prescott
The pandemic has revealed factors that contribute to greater positive rates among low-income communities, communities of color and immigrants — many of which apply to refugees. The nature of their work in essential industries coupled with living situations in which multiple generations reside in one home makes them more at risk, Prescott said.
To counter this, agencies have implemented measures to improve safety and testing in refugee communities.
Thanks to a grant from the Arizona Department of Health Services, the Pima County Health Department and the IRC have partnered to establish free local testing sites and ensure information about these sites is shared with the city’s refugees, Prescott said.
“This testing program is so important because if we can make sure that the most vulnerable people have access to testing, then we can keep those rates lower, which helps the community.”
What about poor vulnerable American kids?
Tucson schools have jumped in, providing essential equipment to refugee youth. Local resettlement agencies also work with families to help them navigate digital education.
And, just in case you think that Lutheran Social Services is being funded by the generosity of Christians passing the plate in church, see this page from a recentForm 990.
Taxpayers pay for approximately 85% of their annual income.
Less than $2 million of their $16.5 million revenue in 2018/19 came from private charity of some sort. Be sure to see page 10 (Form 990 filed in early 2020) and note that most of their income went to salaries, employee benefits and office overhead.
There is even a quarter of a million in travel expenses!
They are still working as Government grants and contracts provide salaries for open borders political activists.
I am not saying the large number of African refugees working at a wind turbine plant brought any virus to North Dakota, but I think you can see the problem brewing in large plants that employ immigrants many of whom do not speak English and live in close-knit immigrant enclaves.
Testing held near North Dakota plant while virus cases climb
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Health officials and National Guard members spent Thursday afternoon screening people for the coronavirus after eight positive tests were confirmed among workers at a North Dakota wind turbine plant that employs a large number of immigrants from African countries.
The drive-thru screenings outside the LM Wind Power in Grand Forks took place on a day when state officials reported a record number of new coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day. A total of 52 cases were confirmed in the last two days, including 28 on Thursday.
Cars were lined up in four lanes outside the LM plant, where officials administered 424 tests in five hours to people who may have come in close contact with the infected workers, said John Bernstrom, spokesman for the city of Grand Forks.
Shirley Dykshoorn
Shirley Dykshoorn, vice president at Lutheran Social Services in Fargo, the state’s refugee resettlement agency, said many of the employees are immigrants or former refugees who have worked at the plant for some time.
“Most of them have good English skills,” Dykshoorn said. “Maybe not as many in their family understand everything so we’ve tried to support them and help them with what they need going forward.”
Dr. Paul Carson, a public health and infectious disease specialist at North Dakota State University and adviser to the governor’s COVID-19 team, said he’s not surprised to see several cases pop up in a large plant. He said it’s important to aggressively pursue people who came in close contact with those who are infected.
“We’re going to find these little flare-ups and I think we should accept them. What we need to able to do is jump on them and try to prevent them from going any further,” Carson said. “We want to avoid what happened with the meat packing plant down in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.”
I had planned to post Neil Munro’s piece at Breitbartfrom a few days ago about problems in the meatpacking industry with the spread of the virus. See it here.
Over half of the more than 1,300 cases in South Dakota have been tied to an outbreak at a Smithfield pork processing plant in Sioux Falls.
The plant is one of the largest known clusters of COVID-19 cases in the country. A total of 598 employees have confirmed infections, plus 135 of their close contacts.
Sigh! Giant global corporations with a voracious appetite for immigrant labor changing the heartland one town at a time.
I’ve been writing about North Dakota for years and it was one of the states I visited during my 2016 road trip through the Midwest and West to see the impact of refugee labor on communities throughout middle America. See my North Dakota archive.
One final note: For years we were able to see which refugees went to which towns and cities on an almost daily basis and all the way back to 2002. That database is no longer available. It was shuttered during Trump’s tenure. The feds claimed the website is being overhauled.
Resettled refugees haven’t been doing so well as the Chinese Virus continues to wreck the US economy, but nevermind, Biden has promised 125,000 more impoverished third worlders for Americans to take care of in the coming year.
