SALISBURY — Providing help and a friendly welcome to the United States are two of the many things that the Lutheran Services Carolinas New Americans Program offer when people are forced to flee their country and work to attain refugee status.

However, that friendly welcome and a friendly face makes all the difference, said Vladimir Vasquez.

In an informal roundtable discussion held Oct. 8 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, Rev. Tennyson Shifley, development officer with LSC, led the conversation by asking questions of the group, made up of refugees, an interpreter, staff of the New Americans program and volunteers.

Shifley said, “our hope is that you will learn a little bit, that we will learn from each other and find new ways to continue supporting our neighbors from wherever they come from, right next door, around the state, across the country or across the world.”

Salisbury’s New Americans Program first opened its doors in 2023 to help refugees acclimate to their new culture and is at St. John’s Lutheran Church on West Innes Street.

Grace Knight, resettlement director for the office, said that through this local program, approximately 130 have resettled in 2024. She added that Salisbury has been the home to refugees for a long time, as she said her family came in the 1990s, resettling from Liberia, West Africa, which is why she wanted to get into resettlement.

“It’s very dear to me that I’m able to give back as well,” Knight said.

Shifley noted that LSC has seven New American offices in both North and South Carolina and last year more than 1,800 new arrivals came into the U.S. in those two states.

Knight began the conversation as she first explained what a refugee is and how they get here.

“Our program focuses on working with individuals that have fled their country due to persecution, religious affiliation, political affiliation,” she said. “They are in danger, they flee their country and go to a neighboring country or sometimes they go very far” but seek protection by going to the embassy.

A vetting process in the refugee status follows as they are working with the United Nations and state department to receive this status, she said.

There is an application process with background checks, an interview and then the go-ahead, during which time they may receive very little notice to pack up and be ready to relocate.

While waiting, they may be in refugee camps, Knight said, which are “not ideal, it’s not homes. So while they are already having to leave everything behind, they are already in a not comfortable situation, they are also waiting.”  

Dawn Ranes, resettlement services coordinator for the Salisbury office, told of the arrival process.

After qualifying for their refugee status, she said they are given a loan to cover expenses, clarifying it is an interest-free loan, and they are expected to repay it over the course of five years. It helps them build their credit and there are penalties if not repaid.

Refugees are then picked up at the airport, provided with a hot meal and a place to sleep for the night. 

“We provide them with welcome groceries,” Ranes said, “but then it ‘s up to our Reception of Placement case managers to connect them with public benefits and they do qualify for those public benefits, usually it’s for a matter of a few months until they get on their feet.”

The ROP program then refers them to an employment program, as she said they do job development, enroll them in ESL, helping them learn a new language as well as culture orientation.

“It’s a very quick process to try to get the client on their feet as quickly as possible,” said Ranes.

Knight wanted to make sure everyone understood that refugee status is a very legal status as she said there is a misconception that these clients are not coming in legally.

A background check is done, everything checks out, she said, and it is a legal status and they can get Social Security cards, a work permit and can enroll in public benefits.

“When you hear the term refugee,” Shifley said, “refugee and legal go hand in hand.”

One big need is for volunteers, said Quinn Rizzo, community engagement coordinator, who said, “I can assure you that this is rewarding volunteer work and you can choose how involved you would like to be.”

Areas of service can include grocery store orientation, which she said can be an overwhelming experience if you can’t read price labels or are only familiar with outdoor markets compared to the big grocery stores.

Cooking coaches is another need and teaching the clients about the appliances in their homes.

She also mentioned library buddies to help them learn available services, as well as helping them connect with the community through cultural orientation.

Having conversations with the clients is another way to help, Rizzo said, so they can practice their English.

Digital literacy, financial tracking and help with the arrival process are additional direct client ways to volunteer.

Non-direct client volunteer opportunities include furniture pick-up, setting up apartments and sorting donations.

The Circle of Welcome groups, which help the New Americans adjust to their new life is another opportunity. The teams, usually made up of six or more, help clients acclimate to life in the U.S. by helping provide supplies for their homes, learn about their community, transportation and other needs.

Applications to volunteer are available online. Rizzo, who provides the training, will get in touch with volunteers after the application process and background checks.

Two individuals, Anne Corriher and Karen Puckett, who are a part of the Circle of Welcome program, shared both rewards and challenges.

Corriher and her husband Clark, have helped a family, who, she said “has touched our lives and we’re friends and family.”

One challenge is language, she noted, plus a few problems of getting some needed things for the house, but said she has a good phone translator and the church they attend, Mt. Zion Church of Christ, collected items for the house and “it’s amazing how everything came into place.”

Puckett agreed that language has been the toughest thing for her even with the translator app. “because things come out weird. You say it real slow, act it out. You just learn to accept it’s going to be hard to communicate. You just do it.”

Through helping a family through the Circle of Welcome group at St. John’s, and hearing stories during the event, Puckett said what has amazed her is “the perseverance and resilience of people to come to this strange place, this strange country with our weird rules and habits and to be able to find their way and become part of the U.S.”

The event also covered the process when refugees arrive, which was addressed by Morgan Johnson, reception and placement/preferred communities case manager.

With last minute calls to go to the airport for pickups and the renovations being done there, Johnson said some pickups can be stressful, sometimes not knowing where the clients will be in the airport.

However, she said, there are good ones too, telling that her favorite pickup was a little girl who knew no English and she knew no Spanish.

“That did not stop her from talking to me the entire time and becoming like my best friend,” said Johnson. “She’s best friends with everybody.”

Shifley directed questions to two refugees, Vasquez, who is from Nicaragua and another from Afghanistan who shared their stories of arriving in the United States and any challenges they have encountered.

Sharing through an interpreter, one client said language was his challenge, but he has been welcomed and is very happy. He said there are great people in the Circle helping and with them, “how can I face challenges. Thanks to everybody.”

“It was a long process,” Vasquez said, telling of his leaving and being uncertain what to do. But then he told of entering the United States and those friendly faces awaiting him and his family at the airport.

“That makes the whole difference,” he said.

As for how long the refugee status is, Ranes said there is no expiration date; however, the expectation is they won’t hold on to refugee status forever as there is a pathway to citizenship.

“Refugees are able to be in the U.S. permanently, legally, but they are eligible to apply for permanent residency after one year, and they are eligible to take the naturalization test after five years,” she said.

In sharing about the family they help, Corriher said “they fill us with joy,” and this experience of being a part of the Circle of Welcome “has been the most wonderful experience in our lives.”

Knight thanked those who attended and her staff, “who goes above and beyond,” she said. “We appreciate the organized chaos that our job entails. We do it passionately. We do it with our hearts and we understand that we are the warm welcome to our clients as they come in.”

To learn more about the New Americans Program, go to https://lscarolinas.net/new-americans-program/.