Nonprofits prepare for projected arrival of Afghan refugees to Amarillo

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - More Afghan refugees could be resettling in Texas, as the evacuation deadline approaches.

As of August 23, Refugee Services of Texas have welcomed 75 Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders (SVI)s, their spouses and children.

Austin 35, Dallas 19, Fort Worth 10 and Houston 11.

Current projections indicate that around 11 Afghan SVI holders and their families could be arriving in Amarillo by the end of September.

With the help of Refugee Services of Texas and the Refugee Language Project, Catholic Charities of Amarillo has been preparing to help new arrivals find housing, employment and language training.

“The process will be very similar to what we already do for other refugees,” said Jeff Gulde, executive director of Catholic Charities. “When an Afghan or individual arrives, our first step is to meet them at the airport. We’ll have housing set up so they can immediately move to a place to live, we want to get them with the health department to make sure all immunizations are up to date.”

Gulde said, one of the main challenges so far has been securing housing and transportation.

“We realize there is a housing shortage in Amarillo right now” said Gulde. “We do have some apartment complexes we work with right now, and we would like to grow that number more just so that we don’t burn one apartment complex with too much.”

“Transportation is always a very difficult thing, especially when you bring a group of new people at one time, who are all going to be needing the same services,” said Ryan Pennington, Ph.D. executive director, Refugee Language Project. “Esl classes, doctor appointments, bringing their kids to register at the school district.”

According to Pennington, since 2018 the third-highest number of resettlement’s in Amarillo have been from Afghanistan.

“Following Congo and Maymar,” said Pennington. “It’s not the first time a group of Afghanis has come to Amarillo so, it’s not something that the community needs to necessarily be afraid of.”

On Monday at 7:00 p.m., the Refugee Language Project will have a Zoom call to answer the communities’ questions surrounding the local impact of these resettlement’s.

“If people can contact us and get on our list,” said Gulde. “We are anticipating a big need for volunteers, as we set up apartments and English classes.”

Because timelines could be changing, Catholic Charities is working on having housing, transportation and interpreters available by September 1, the earliest.

“As I personally watch this unfold on TV, I really feel for those families and try to put myself in their situation,” said Gulde. “‘What would I do?’ and I would be hopeful that as I get on a transport plane, leaving Kabul, going to a country that I really don’t know, that people will be there with open arms and I’m confident, because Amarillo has always done that.”

The nonprofit says monetary donations and everyday items are welcomed.

For more information on how to help, call (806) 376-457.

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