I will be honest. My perspective and opinions on government programs and function get a bit jaded. Some of the frustration stems from regularly working with immigration-related issues in a variety of contexts. Things often seem poorly designed and incredibly slow-moving. It’s awkward when I'm talking with people and don't have reasonable explanations for how things work or have to respond with the line, “Just keep waiting.”
There is an exception. One program that, so far, seems well-designed with great intentions is the Welcome Corps program. It is a federal program designed so that private sponsorship groups can fulfill many of the critical roles in welcoming a refugee individual or family to their community.
The program has existed for a couple of years, but a new option was recently added, allowing sponsorship groups to select a known refugee individual or family. This is of great interest among many of the people I interact with in Fort Morgan, because they have many family members and friends who are still stuck overseas in a refugee camp or other unsettled conditions, waiting for the possibility of someday resettling somewhere.
In response to the many questions we were receiving in our drop-in office, we organized an informational meeting about the Welcome Corps program. It was held at the local community college. We had a speaker from a supporting organization in Illinois clearly walk through how the program works and answer a wide variety of questions.
We will continue to help answer questions. We will continue to support private sponsorship groups that have formed and connect them with people or organizations that may be useful. And I look forward to the day when local residents will be able to welcome their friends to the community and help them get off to a good start.
If you are interested in exploring this seemingly good program (not fully tried and tested quite yet), check out their website at www.welcomecorps.org. Let me know if I can help in any way, or let me know if you hear any stories that would indicate whether or not it is working well. I hope it really will be a good one.