More than 50 evacuees from Afghanistan have arrived in New Hampshire so far, according to two resettlement agencies in the state that have received help from volunteers in getting them situated.
“There’s one family that’s been placed with a Concord family living in their in-law apartment,” Chrissie Ferrara, a program manager at Ascentria Care Alliance, told the Concord Monitor. “We’re looking at that as a model and asking the community to get involved and possibly house people if they have the space.”
Ascentria, which also resettled one family in Nashua, and is looking at options in other communities, has formed neighborhood support teams, volunteers of about 10 to 30 people in a community who commit to helping a family get situated. Group members help evacuees find employment, enroll kids in school, and offer rides to medical appointments, among other assistance.
Ferrara said that after Thanksgiving, the agency expects to be welcoming more Afghan arrivals every other week, into next year. She said Ascentria has committed to helping 100 people who fled Afghanistan.
Another agency, the International Institute of New England, also is looking to involve more community members in the resettlement process in family support teams.
More than 80,000 people have come to the U.S. so far under what the Biden administration calls Operation Allies Welcome, since the U.S. ended its longest war and the government fell to the Taliban.
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