Logistical Summary:

There are two phases for the project: an Immediate Phase (Welcome Home Project) and Enduring Phase (Family Mentoring).

The Immediate phase is tied to the US Committee For Refugees and Immigrants' (USCRI) Welcome Home Project. This project is designed to provide furnished apartments for refugees. Our volunteers will gather household donations from local sources and help to put together an apartment for incoming families.

The Enduring Phase of the project is the family mentoring component. Each family will be mentored weekly by a team of volunteers from our church. The teams will support their family by providing a healthy community and educational support in the following areas:

1) Health/Dental/Nutritional

2) Spiritual

3) Social

4) Language

Each team will consist of cross-generational members that are trained in one or two of these areas. Every team member will be trained in cultural awareness and providing spiritual support. By supporting families in teams, burn-out and weariness can be avoided, as we bear each other's burdens. Not everyone on the team will have to attend every mentoring session but a personal relationship between families and mentors will be established. We estimate that the volunteer workload will average 2 hours/week, but this estimate is not precise as teams can come up with their own individual schedules.

Both phases will need to be started up immediately and simultaneously, as the need is very large. From my conversations with USCRI, as many as 50 families will be resettling in the area throughout the summer. We hope to have volunteer groups for the Immediate Phase by early June and Enduring Phase teams by late June.