Colorado Refugee Services Program

05/21/2023

A fundamental rule of critical thinking is consider the source. Tucker uttering anything about truth is more than suspect - it’s ludicrous. But this huckster is sure to turn a dime.

Tucker Carlson has announced a new show, just over two weeks after being fired from Fox News.

08/30/2017

POLITICS 08/30/2017 05:00 am ET How Houston's Refugees Are Facing Harvey — And Giving Back To The City That Took Them In "As human[s], we have to help each other," said Mohammad Pechwal, who moved to Houston from Afghanistan. By Jessica Schulberg , Elise Foley WASHINGTON ― At first, Dayana Halawo’s…

08/17/2017

Here's a good resource and piece of research. Helps message how resettlement as a humanitarian response to the world wide crisis is an investment in our common good.

We checked use of food stamps, household income, employment status, and language skills.

05/02/2017

Hey friends, I have an ask for you. I've been working with two 8th graders at Anastasis Academy in Centennial. They are working on a capstone project and have designed this educational fundraiser for this Thursday. They have chosen some great videos, invited some folks in the community to speak and will share their own spoken word about refugees. Megan and Macie, with the guidance of their teacher Lance, have put together a tight evening that I'm really looking forward to. I don't ask often, but would you consider stepping out and supporting two young leaders and their compassionate commitment to making a difference? Call, text or FB message me if you can attend so that I can help them figure out food etc.

03/20/2017

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/illuminations-shine-light-refugee-crisis-12742246

The cathedral hosted art and light show in aid of the Ely Refugee Resettlement Campaign , which has so far helped in the resettlement of one Syrian refugee family in Ely.

02/15/2017

Yesterday I was biking to a pot luck event at Hidden Brook Apartments where many of the residents are refugees. As I was passing through the neighborhood of Montclair, I began seeing signs posted on lawns and side strips. I stopped to take a picture of a sign and a man out walking his two dogs crossed the street to talk with me. He explained that the signs were made and printed up by a neighbor, who then posted in Montclair Nextdoor that he had a 150 of the signs on his front porch and anyone could drop by and pick one up to place on their lawn. Folks clearly took him up on his offer because 12th avenue was peppered with the signs.

This is what welcoming looks like. One neighbor makes it a point to act neighborly and single-handedly gets his neighbors on board to build community one sign at a time.

Do you have a story of welcoming or your neighbors, family and friends making a difference and building bridging social capital? Post them here.

02/08/2017

It's interesting that all this information has been out there about the refugee vetting system in place. A reporter chronicles it yet again in a well written story with details about real people. What appalls me is that the current administration has done no homework and shutting down resettlement for 120 days was just vindictive and harmful. The truth is already out there.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/us/refugee-vetting-process.html

As the courts weigh a challenge to President Trump’s order to suspend refugee admissions, we trace the many steps already in place, through the eyes of two refugees.

01/24/2017

Here's a great way to explore our international and local intersections in providing humanitarian relief and assistance. Bring a family member, a friend, a colleague. See you there.
https://unaffopeningnightreception2017.eventbrite.com

Join us for our Opening Night Reception of the 3rd Annual United Nations Association Traveling Film Festival Denver brought to you by United Nations Association Denver Chapter. Enjoy a global cuisine dinner, an award winning film screening, "Welcome to Refugeestan" and engage in community dialogue w...

11/28/2016

This story has been sticking with me for a while. A Syrian refugee who is a master tailor saves a wedding. Great story on its own. But I think that what’s been persisting is a need to unpack the story just a bit.

Good things just don’t happen. Conversely, bad things don’t just happen either. I’m talking about those events that we have control over – not the disasters, hurricanes, or accidents etc. I think we can carve out a category of good and bad that are instigated by humans.

The redeeming story of the master tailor from Syria is a good example. Lots had to happen for Halil Dudu to save the day. And that’s what has stuck with me – this notion that we need to be out in the world creating the platform for good to happen.
Canada had to have a policy in place for resettling refugees. They had to implement a program that provided safety and sanctuary to the victims of the horrific events in Syria. And they had to have a program that created the opportunity for David Hobson to be able to take Halil and his family into his home. Proactive efforts of goodness that led to the opportunity for Halil to save the day.

I think we overlook those efforts that bring goodness into the world. And I think we pay less attention than we should to how we as individuals and organizations and government can create the opportunities for goodness to happen. We are too focused on being against and not focused enough on what we can do to proactively bring goodness about.

It’s complicated, I know. Lots of holes can be punched into this notion of promoting goodness. But I think we can benefit from suspending our overly critical/negative mind and thinking about a world where we are all looking for ways to interact positively in our world so that goodness can happen. That’s not as complicated as it seems.

Volunteer at a soup kitchen and get to know the stories of the patrons. Bring someone home for a meal. Attend one of the many cultural events around the holidays and meet our new neighbors. Bring a family home to share in one of your holiday traditions. It’s as simple as letting someone into the lane in front of you. Get to know a DACA dreamer and then take time to see how the Executive Order creates an opportunity for good things to happen. Look for the opportunity to create something positive as you move through the day. From big to small, these are the interactions in our universe that begin to tip the balance.

Stories of a refugee from Aleppo saving the day won’t be so surprising. We’ll be equally pleased and redeemed but less surprised because we’ve been out there doing those kinds of things that are precursors to making just that kind of goodness in the world happen.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/syrian-tailor-living-in-canada-for-just-4-days-saves-wedding-1.3091569

When the zipper on Jo Du’s wedding dress broke just hours before her ceremony, a sense of panic set it. But, as luck would have it, a Syrian refugee who worked as a tailor in Aleppo for 28 years had moved next-door with his family four days earlier.

11/22/2016

Great story and no need to fear.

http://www.npr.org/2016/11/22/502980034/utica-n-y-which-welcomes-refugees-monitors-trumps-muslim-comments

Utica has been shaped for decades by its policy of welcoming refugees. People there say the fear many Americans feel over new Muslim immigrants doesn't match their community.

10/20/2016

So much misinformation out there. This is a helpful read:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-refugee-crisis_us_5807809ae4b0180a36e7ac14?section=

His sources range from "believe me!" to "we all know it!"

10/19/2016

This is what makes the U.S. great.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/18/us/syrian-refugees-new-jersey-camerota/

A young family of six reflects on the journey from war-torn Syria to Elizabeth, New Jersey.