We have been incredibly busy this month welcoming 63 refugees! Ten are Spanish speaking from Guatemala, five are Pashto speaking from Afghanistan, six are Arabic speaking from Syria, and 42 are Swahili or Kinyarwanda speaking from the Democratic Republic of Congo. These individuals and families come to us as part of our refugee resettlement program through HIAS. Prior to September, we received 89 refugees this FY22 (ending September 30th) through HIAS.
These numbers do not include the over 200 Afghans who arrived to JFS as SIV’s and evacuees, over 170 Ukrainians, and 50 Cuban and Haitian entrants. Every week brings new Ukrainian walk-in clients to our office needing assistance, as well as Haitians for whom we have established a waiting list for help to receive assistance with case management, referrals, housing, and filing of applications for qualifying services.
This month we furnished ten new apartments! We have cleared out space in our storeroom for more arrivals coming soon, and are currently in need of dressers, couches, kitchen items, and kitchen tables and chairs. If you have any of these items to donate, please fill our Donate Goods form on our website, and we will contact you as soon as possible to facilitate your donation.
Help us replenish our supplies by purchasing items from our WISHLIST to support newly arriving Ukrainians and other refugees. Click here for the link to our Amazon WISHLIST, and designate delivery to JFS, 15 Lenox Street, Springfield, MA 01108. Please fill out a gift receipt with your order so that we can thank you!
Sign up to VOLUNTEER! As JFS is expanding its programming, more support from the community is needed to help newly arriving refugee families in Springfield and the Berkshires. You can apply on our website, or contact Massara Almafrachi, Community Engagement Coordinator, at m.almafrachi@jfswm.org for any further questions.
We are still looking for additional musical instruments for Ukrainian families. If you have a violin, cello, flute, accordion, bayan, or other musical instruments that you can donate, please contact Dana Lanoue at d.lanoue@jfswm.org.
