TRI-CITIES, WA – Friday morning, President Biden announced a plan to admit 100,000 refugees into the United States.
Spokane is expecting refugees. However, there is no official when or how many are expected.
Nearly 3.6 million Ukrainians are now refugees and displaced more who are still in Ukraine. However, the majority of refugees have moved to neighboring countries.
World Relief has been helping refugees from around the world for decades.
As they come to the United States, World Relief ensures they are there to help with federal programs to help with residency.
Ken Primus, Director of World Relief Tri-Cities says the Lautenberg Program helps refugees.
“They could be granted parolee status, which is similar to how the Afghan refugees were classified,” he says, “At least a thousand people that are already on the waiting list to be in the Tri-Cities through the Lautenberg Program.”
The program, a family reunification program, allows US residents to bring their family members abroad to the US.
World Relief has a list of nearly one thousand people waiting to be approved.
Once they arrive, World Relief Tri-Cities welcome them into the community.
World Relief Tri-Cities has several Christian Churches, including a couple of Ukrainian Churches they’re in contact with.
“We’ve worked and partnered with over the years and they continue to donate,” Ken said, “Not just money but church members volunteer their services as well.”
House of Hope Church in Pasco is one. Pastor Vasily Doroschuck says they help because many of their volunteers and himself were former refugees.
“Members of our church came out to the airport with flowers and balloons to make them feel welcomed,” he says, “then world relief had to sit down and do some initial paperwork, so many members provided services where they were translating.”
Pastor Doroschuck says each volunteer is assigned a family. They help with needs families will have like buying food and clothes.
As a church, they are there to provide physical and spiritual support for refugees.
