Refugee Protection Act
 

HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) and other groups recently sent out action alerts asking people to contact their elected officials in Congress and ask them to cosponsor the Refugee Protection Act (S.3241/H.R.5851).

I am sure that many of us feel that our elected officials are good on the issues we care about, so question whether it makes any difference if we respond to action alerts like these. But even though I am pretty confident they would vote for the legislation, they won’t necessarily cosponsor legislation or make it a priority, without hearing from constituents. This is an easy way for you to let your Representative and our Senators know that refugee resettlement is a priority issue for you.

I just checked the bill websites, and Rep. Blumenauer is the only member of the Oregon delegation listed as a cosponsor. So, it is time to take action. This HIAS link makes it very easy to send a note. If you live in Rep. Blumenauer’s district, please add a thank you to your message! You can find out who your Representative is here - http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/.
 

Hassan Family Update and Requests
 

Rachel Oh, Ken Lerner, and I have continued to stay in touch with the Hassan family as their Cultural Navigator team. Between the three of us, some of the ways we have supported the family have been to go to the Social Security Administration office to help Aden unravel the delay with getting a social security number, drive Aden to an informational interview at Portland Public Schools, locate a donated computer and help Aden get it set up, revise Aden's resume, take the whole family to the zoo, and try to check in on a regular basis to see how they are doing. Overall they seem to be adjusting.

We are trying to be as responsive to their needs as possible, and Aden has told us two ways we can help him, and we could use some help to meet his requests:

• Help him learn how to drive. He has his driver’s permit, and his brother has an extra car that he will let him use, but he needs someone to go driving with him.Do you have time to go driving with him?  His English is very good, and he is smart and personable. He has been watching videos about driving, but like anyone learning to drive, needs a lot of practice to feel comfortable.
• He has a MAC, and is using it for basic email, etc. However, he knows he doesn’t know how to take advantage of all the features.Would you have time for some computer tutoring on a MAC?

The final ask did not come directly from him, but all of our conversations with him focus on his desire to get a job as quickly as possible. In Kenya he was a teacher, but it would be a very long road for him to get his teaching license here. We are helping him figure out what the steps for that would be, but in the meantime he needs a job. He has been applying for warehouse jobs, but if you own a business, or know someone who does, and might have a job Aden could apply for, PLEASE let us know!

Please let me, Rachel or Ken know if you can help with any of the request for the Hassan family.

- Chris Coughlin

The above photo of the Hassans was taken by Chris Coughlin.