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RECEPTION & PLACEMENT SERVICES
Official Refugee Resettlement Agency
Lifting Humanity, an affiliate of IRUSA and IRC, is the first Resettlement Agency site in San Bernardino County. Lifting Humanity, welcomed 79 new Refugees and 8 SIVs in the months of May to to September 30th, 2024 – end of fiscal year 2024. We are scheduled to resettle 100 refugees and 50 SIVs into San Bernardino County starting October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025.
According to California Immigrant Data Portal, California remains one of the top states for refugee arrivals and is home to 23% of immigrants in the U.S., which accounts for 27% of the nation’s SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) population and 7% of its refugee population. The top countries of origin for these refugees are Afghanistan, and Syria. Although San Bernardino is not one of the most refugee-impacted counties in California, it has recently become an overflow county to all those counties, especially, Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange. Most resettlement agencies have been resettling refugees in the Inland Empire area, which includes the counties of San Bernardino and Riverside. This is primarily due to the shortage and cost of housing.
Lifting Humanity, with its partner organizations, has been able to resettle these families in the Inland Empire. Some of these services include:
- Picking up families from the airport
- Placing them in temporary housing
- Providing Cultural Orientation
- Finding permanent housing
- Furnishing their homes
- Providing groceries and food boxes
- Providing bicycles, bus passes, and other transportation services
- Enrolling children in schools and adults in ESL classes
- Enrolling in benefits (Medi-Cal, Cal-Fresh, Refugee Cash Assistance, WIC)
- Finding employment
- And all other services needed in their resettlement into their new home in California.
Unaccompanied Youth Program
Lifting Humanity’s Unaccompanied Youth (UAY) Program is offered to those youth who enter the United Stated without any parents or other family members. These UAY would have entered the US after being seventeen years old, and prior to their eighteenth birthday. The UAY reside in various shelters throughout California, and upon turning their 18th birthday, with no viable sponsor, host home or specialized program, these youth are placed in homeless shelters. They are especially at risk since the majority of them do not speak English and have no family or community to depend on for their basic supportive services. Some lucky ones are taken by selfless individuals in their homes and offered support.
Lifting Humanity’s mentorship program is the bridge for these UAY, their new community and life in the US. Lifting Humanity case management services focuses on finding housing, host homes, assisting with rent, clothing, household items and furniture, food, mentorship, cultural orientation, community engagement, school enrollment, finding a job, and more. With the help of a grant from Islamic Relief USA, and a matching grant from a few Anonymous Donors, we are helping youth stand on their feet as they start their new life in the U.S.
Lifting Humanity collaborates with the various shelters in finding housing for UAY prior to their discharge from the shelter. Lifting Humanity staff and volunteers are the “big brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles for these youth. These individuals are the closest to a family these youth have in the US.
The Objectives of the UAY Program is:
- To provide safe and stable housing for unaccompanied youth upon their transition from the shelters to independent living.
- To reduce the risk of homelessness and housing instability among emancipated youth.
- To empower youth by connecting them with supportive, educational, employment and community resources and services.
Currently Lifting Humanity is assisting fifteen youth with case management and supportive services, five of whom are receiving monthly rental assistance. With the help of the The Community Impact Fund (TCIF), starting October 1, 2024, Lifting Humanity is providing more in depth mentorship and community integration to these youth.
Employment Readiness Program
With the support of Islamic Relief USA, Lifting Humanity is starting its Employment Readiness Program for refugees and immigrants post their 90 days of Reception & Placement Services on October 1, 2024. These culturally and linguistically sensitive services, and referrals to other essential supportive services such as ESL Classes, Immigration Services, Social Services and Benefits, Medical assistance, and Civic & Community Engagement opportunities, assist refugees in their quest for self-sufficiency. Participants are provided employment classes that teach skills necessary to obtain employment such as: creating a resume, completing employment applications, mock interviews, securing an apprenticeship, learning about budgeting and securing and maintaining employment. Classes are offered either once a week for 12-Weeks or twice a week for 6-weeks.
These services, along with assistance in financial literacy, budgeting, and access to financial services help alleviate participant’s financial challenges and puts them on track towards self-sufficiency.
Services to Trauma Affected Refugees (STAR) Program
Lifting Humanity has been awarded the Services for Trauma Affected Refugee (STAR) program from the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).
As of October 1, 2024, Lifting Humanity will be offering mental health assessment and B to newly arrived refugees and other ORR eligible newcomers as they become contributing members of their new community. Lifting Humanity’s STAR program staff (Clinicians, Case Manager, Community & Cultural Liaison, and Community Health Workers) will serve refugees (Refugee, Asylee, Humanitarian Parolee, Cuban/Haitian Entrant, Lawful Permanent Resident with previous qualifying status, Amerasian (Vietnam) immigrant, Iraqi or Afghan Special Immigrant, Afghan Humanitarian Parolee, Afghan SQ/SI Parolee, Afghan SI Conditional Permanent Resident, Ukrainian Humanitarian Parole, Victim of Trafficking in Persons) within 5 years of their initial resettlement into the US.
Lifting Humanity ’s STAR program will provide age, developmentally, culturally and linguistically appropriate core services to the newly arrived individuals which will include trauma-informed mental health therapy, family strengthening interventions, culturally sensitive training, interpretation and transportation aid, holistic therapeutic programs, and telehealth options, all aimed at fostering the well-being and successful integration of trauma-affected refugees and newcomers.
The objective of the Lifting Humanity’s STAR program is to increase access to appropriate, effective, and holistic trauma assistance and mental health services at individual, group, and family level, taking into account considerations of age and gender of the participants. All of the services are trauma-informed and culturally and linguistically appropriate. These services will assist participants in overcoming barriers to self-sufficiency in areas of home, school, employment, financial insecurity, language acquisition, or social setting. By increasing access to appropriate trauma assistance, mental health services and holistic services, we can tackle the physical, emotional, and social challenges related to unaddressed health issues, and thus further empowering refugees towards self-sufficiency and economic stability.
Refugee Health Promotion Project
The California Department of Public Health has awarded Lifting Humanity with the Refugee Health Promotion Project (RHPP) and Afghan Refugee Heath (AHP) Supplement program starting October 1, 2024. Health services are provided to participants whose needs extend beyond the scope of our Reception & Placement Program during their first 90 days of resettlement in the U.S., as well as those who require ongoing support beyond the initial 90 days and up to five years after their arrival. These services are prioritized for participants who have the most persistent, urgent, or underserved health needs. The Health Navigator provides comprehensive support, including triage, a psychosocial assessment, and a personalized plan of care with appropriate services and referrals. Participants are offered both individualized and group classes and activities.
Cultural and Religious Celebrations
Since its inception in California, Lifting Humanity has been providing culturally appropriate support to Unaccompanied Children and Youth at various ORR shelters in Southern California. These supportive services include:
- Halal meals during Ramadan,
- Qurans, Tasbih (prayer beads), prayer rugs, caps and scarves
- Culturally specific clothes before Eid,
- Eid Celebrations with food and gifts for all the youth (Muslim and non-Mulsim)
- Mentorship to youth who are aging out without a sponsors
Afghanistan
Ghazgai High School Project
Ghazgai High School Project will be implemented in three phases:
Phase I – University Entrance Exam (Kankor): Students attending 12th grade will be provided additional instruction and educational material to prepare them for university entrance exam or Kankor. This educational activity starts in the fifth month of the education year and will end three months after the student graduate from high school. While in high school, the additional instruction will take place after school for two hours every day. After finishing the high school,the instruction will move to intensive stage and student will be provided four hours of intensive instruction six day per week.
Phase II – Intensive English Language Course: The second phase, Intensive English Language Course will start six months after the implementation of Phase I. In Phase II, student will be provided intensive English Language skills during 10th , 11th , and 12th grade. These instructions will be provided in after school hours for one hour, six days a week. we implement the first phase. This course will prepare students for TOEFL, IELTS and other exams.
Phase III Computer Lab: This phase will be implemented six months after the launching of Phase II. Lifting Humanity will establish 20 units computer lab and provided computer instruction to students from 9th grade to 12th grade during regular school hours. This will be additional instruction to the required curriculum.
Afghanistan
Women Sewing Machine Project
Lifting Humanity will provide sewing machines and tailoring training to 20 women in Kabul,which will provide them the skill and opportunity to earn income and alleviate their economicsuffering. Lifting Humanity staff in Kabul will also assist these women in finding local market fortheir finish product.
Our PAST projects
From Afghanistan to Utah to California!
EDUCATION
FOOD AID
According to UNESCO, for more than 265 million children around the world, education is only a dream. Poverty remains one of the most significant factors that hinder access to quality education. Countries with the highest out-of-school rate are also among the poorest countries in the world.
During our inaugural year, we collaborated with various universities and institutes of higher education in Afghanistan to secure full scholarships, partial scholarships, and tuition waivers for the university students.
This agreement lasted four years, from 2015 to 2019, and assisted numerous students, who otherwise would have not had the chance to attend the university in achieving their educational ambitions. Additionally, the organization donated two-thousand books to students of all ages in Afghanistan, and academic books to various libraries and universities in Afghanistan.
At Lifting Humanity, we believe that it’s hard for children and young adults to succeed in their lives if they are going through food deprivation. Overall health is impaired due to the lack of proper nutrition, and children often lag in school due to a lack of concentration or illness caused by hunger. Below are some of our Food Aid projects in Afghanistan:
- During the holy month Ramadhan, April 2022, we distributed Food Packages to orphans, widows and other needy families in Kabul. On average, each Food Package provided a food ration for a family of seven for one month.
- In January 2022, we distributed Food Packages in the Baghlan Province to 125 families (875 men, women, and children).
- In January 2022, we distributed Food Packages in the Helmand Province to 125 families (875 men, women, and children).
- In April 2021, we distributed AF 548,000.00 cash assistance to 144 widows, orphans, people with disability, and other needy families.
- In May 2020, we distributed Food Packages to 90 widows, orphans, people with disabilities, and other needy families.
- In April 2019, we distributed Food Packages to 80 widows, orphans, people with disability, and other needy families..
RESETTLEMENT SERVICES
WINTERIZATION PROJECTS
Lifting Humanity provided supportive and integrating services to the newly arrived refugees adjusting in their new environments and building a new life in the US. We provided:
- Cultural Sensitivity and Trauma Informed Training for community partners.
- Translation of Documents into Dari and Pashto
- Legal Assistance for Afghan parole applications in Salt Lake City, Utah where over 50 applications were processed.
- Filed social security and job application forms and translated documents from Pashto and Dari to English in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- Welcoming Lunch: In October 2021, we co-organized a welcoming lunch for the new refugees/arrivals in Salt Lake City, Utah. They were picked up and dropped off at their residence. They were provided clothing, shoes, food products, general hygiene products, women hygiene products, diapers, toys, cookware, dinner ware, and other household needs.
- Ongoing donations of shoes, clothing, household items, and hygiene products to newly arrived refugees in Salt Lake City, Utah and in Southern California.
In Kabul, Afghanistan, Lifting Humanity provided assistance to individuals and families facing with challenging winter conditions.
- To help protect the most vulnerable and needy families against the harsh cold winter of Kabul 2023, we distributed firewood per family in the month of February 2023 to numerous families living in the tent camps and other residential areas in various parts of Kabul.
- In February 2022, we distributed Winter Clothing Packages to 160 families (960 orphans, widows, men, women, and children) in Kabul. One Winter Package included the following items and was sufficient for a family of six:
- 6 Blankets
- 6 Winter Jackets
- 6 Pullovers/Sweaters
- 18 Pairs Socks
- 6 Pairs Gloves
- 6 Beanie (male)/Shawl(female).
