Making The World A Better Place!

If you're like my family, you sat glued to the nightly news as images of American troops worked tirelessly over a two-week period to get as many Afghans as possible out of Afghanistan by August 31. When I see images, like the ones above, it makes me so proud to be an American knowing our Troops are the real heroes of this story.

I have two professional passions in my life: helping veterans and empowering women and girls to reach their full potential. The work with veterans is on-going in two ways; singing (in my other world, I'm a traditional country singer and songwriter) and volunteering with non-profits that support them. When it comes to female empowerment, I try to mentor younger women in my industry, and I co-lead a Girl Scout Troop.

The whole purpose of the Girl Scouts of America is to build courage, confidence and character in young girls and make the world a better place. To help live our mission, my Troop (Brownies - Troop 68352) and our families, a few friends and our two fearless leaders, Doctors Karen and Kyle Greenwood, made a decision we would co-sponsor an Afghan family that will resettle in Denver through Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountain in the next few days or weeks.

I would be remiss to not mention this because in our uber divided country right now, it seems more common than ever to have unconscious biases against people we don't know and situations we are unfamiliar with, especially when it comes to immigration. We all know immigration is very complicated but when it comes to the Afghans that were part of the air lift out of the country in August, the complications are even greater. There are several ways refugees can get to the U.S.??In the case of the family we are co-sponsoring, and is likely the case for many of the Afghans that will be arriving into communities across the country in the next few weeks and months, our family is called an "Afghan Parolee". Click here for more information on this type of refugee. As Americans I hope we can put assumptions and biases aside to help all Afghan families resettling in our respective communities become part of America.

Here are the facts about our family and most Afghan families that fled the country at the end of the war and will now be resettling in the United States:

? Each family that escaped in August was only allowed one small suitcase and, in some cases, only left with a backpack or the clothes on their bodies.

? Afghans are living on military bases in the US and abroad and will soon be sent to different states across the country to resettle.

? They are receiving all vaccines, including COVID-19, on the bases before being sent to their new homes.

? Departure from the bases has been held up due to a measles outbreak, which is being addressed now with the MMR vaccine.

? Each person receives a one-time payment of $1025 (again, this only applies to Afghan Parolees. Other refugees that are classified differently may receive more money and are elgible for different social programs and funding).

? Afghan Parolees are NOT eligible for ANY social services (no food stamps - SNAP, TANP or any other assistance). Children under 18 are allowed to be on Medicaid, adults are not.

? Our family and most Afghan families that fled in August, do not have SIV status and therefore do NOT have work authorization yet. What does this mean? They will be getting special work authorization, but it could take up to 16 weeks before those are secured.

One of the largest tasks our team will tackle is raising $10,000. “Why $10,000?” you may ask? As mentioned above, this family will have to pay rent (that is not provided to them by Lutheran Family Services or by the government) and they are not eligible to work. This scenario presents a huge conundrum, especially in Denver when a 3-bedroom apartment can cost between $2500 - $5000/month. LFS is setting-up their apartment with essentials (beds, couch, utensils, plates, bowls, etc.), but their resources are limited. Arriving in a new country with literally nothing is incomprehensible so aside from raising money, they will also need help with other essentials (clothing, food, getting around using public transportation, getting jobs, learning how-to live-in America) and social/emotional support from the teams co-sponsoring them.

What's the most important thing we can do to support our new neighbors? Social bridging! Friendship is the most important thing to them. Most will be Muslim and believe and abide by the 5 pillars of Islam: Faith in one God, praying five times per day, giving alms/charity, fasting (especially during the month of Ramadan) and Hajj pilgrimage (once in their lives). Other Afghan beliefs include generosity, modesty, education, and dietary restrictions.

There are so many unknowns still but if you are a business owner, a hiring manager or in human resources with open positions, please reach out to your local resettlement agency to let them know what positions you have available! If you want to co-sponsor a family resettling in your local community, click here to access the US map from the Office of Refugee Resettlement --> click on your state and a list of resources will populate you can contact to help.

Wednesday was our first in-person Girl Scout in two years. I was thrilled to tell the girls about the new family that we will be helping resettle in Denver. Our girls were ecstatic to make signs welcoming our new friends “home”. Though they do not completely understand what the war in Afghanistan was about or what the Taliban really is, they do understand there is a family moving from across the world with six children, two of whom are their ages, escaping really bad people. They want to make sure this family feels welcome in Colorado.?

Our troop may not have the power to change the world but we can make our small piece of it a little better place for us all to live.