USCRI

Elsewhere in this blog I've mentioned Nipper, a giant dog on top of a building, and my favourite Albany landmark.  As far as I used to know, the Nipper building just housed Arnoff's Removal Company.  Tonight I went inside and learnt better.

On the ground floor there's an Irish-American Museum - who knew?  But I wasn't there for that.  I was heading up to the next floor to attend a volunteer orientation event at the local branch of the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.

USCRI is the hub of support for refugees in the Albany area - and much of that support comes from volunteers.  About 400 refugees arrive here each year, fleeing war or persecution, and they desperately need assistance.  Many, such as those from Burma, have lived for years in rudimentary camps in the jungle, and they arrive in this country with little more than the clothes on their backs.  USCRI sets them up with a place to live, basic resources and a case worker to help them begin the challenging process of settling into a brand new culture.  Refugees have just 90 days of fully funded, professional assistance - three months to try and find their feet in an environment so alien they may as well have landed on another planet.

Volunteers act as mentors, teachers and friends as they try to help refugees along the road to independence. They might lend a hand with booking medical appointments, or explaining paperwork, or teaching how to navigate the public transport system.  Some volunteers offer English lessons.  Others organise collections for needed household items, or help furnish an apartment. There are all sorts of ways to help.  

I know most of my readers aren't anything like local, but if you do happen to live around here, and if helping refugees is something you'd like to get involved with, there's lots more information here.