As we know, refugees are now arriving in very limited numbers. Although some who arrived earlier still have needs that volunteers may be able to support, furnishing apartments for refugee families – a major activity for Open Doors in the past – is not currently a large need.
In response to this shift, Open Doors for Refugees’ Leadership Council formed a task force to explore how we can match refugees’ current needs with volunteers’ capacities. We started by conducting listening sessions with groups of refugees: Arabic-speaking women and men separately, Afghan women and men separately, and Swahili speaking men and women together. Task force members asked questions and refugees provided input through a translator.
Themes that came up regularly in these conversations included:
- More opportunities for ESL conversation
- Assistance in getting driver’s licenses, especially for women who did not have the opportunity to learn to drive
- Assistance figuring out how to find the right organization or contact person for a specific need
A survey earlier this year asked volunteers about their skills and interests and connecting with refugees. The Leadership Council is now considering how to bring refugees and volunteers together to address needs, skills, interests, and desire for connection. Stay tuned as this project evolves!
This article first appeared in the July 2025 newsletter. Subscribe here for the latest.