Senator Eldridge and Representative Sena urge constituents to support the resettlement of Afghan refugees in their communities

Legislators connect with faith groups and nonprofits for all hands on deck effort

900 Afghan families have been designated to resettle in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with some having already arrived in Boston. Our goal is to find housing for Afghan families, collect donations that will assist families’ resettlement in Massachusetts, and form Neighborhood Support Teams for direct aid to our new Afghan neighbors. Thus, we are looking for residents with available living quarters, landlords with vacant apartments, kind contributions of whatever you are able, and families to join a support network for Afghan families. Representative Sena and I have attended several meetings led by faith groups in our districts that are leading these efforts, and have connected with some of the lead resettlement agencies that are working directly with Afghan refugees. If constituents are interested to help in these ways, we strongly encourage you to contact us at james.eldridge@masenate.gov or danillo.sena@mahouse.gov, and we can help connect you to the resettlement effort.

So far, there are few leads on vacant apartments or houses that will provide a comfortable place to live in. Afghan families who evacuated their home country will be resettling in the Commonwealth, but the Afghans arriving do not have refugee status. Rather, they are “Humanitarian Parolees”, which means that they do not immediately receive federal government support. That’s why we need to fill in the gap.

We urge those with housing - residents with available living space and landlords in the MetroWest area and beyond with available apartments - to open their doors to these Afghan families who have been forced to leave their country hoping for a fresh start here in Massachusetts. We realize that finding apartments on short notice is quite a challenge.  So, we are taking the unusual step of looking for alternative or transitional housing options.

At a minimum, a homeowner would have to go through Catholic Charities’ standard volunteer process which includes a CORI background check. Places like transitional spaces that have a separate entrance and bathrooms, to give the family the privacy they need would be more than ideal. However, we are primarily searching for available apartments. With the lack of leads, families with available living space with a separate entrance and a bathroom are encouraged to seek out more information.  If you have available housing, please fill out this form.

If you don’t have housing, you can still help in tremendously meaningful ways! One means of helping is through donation to the organizations directly working on resettlement. Our recommended organization to donate to is https://www.ascentria.org/. Ascentria Care Alliance is working to resettle 500 Afghan refugees in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Ascentria is doing their part, however, there are still 400 families arriving in Massachusetts who still need access to housing, furniture, clothing, food, transportation, and education. 

 Another way to help is by joining a Neighborhood Support Team, so that you can personally assist in welcoming our new Afghan neighbors to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts along with 20 others! Although these families are grateful to be removed from turbulent circumstances, they are still feeling displaced and in need of direct assistance. Your aid will make a huge difference in their lives.

If you are interested in helping or have any leads, please email james.eldridge@masenate.gov or danillo.sena@mahouse.gov. 

State Senator Jamie Eldridge, Middlesex and Worcester District

State Representative Danillo Sena, 37th Middlesex District