Afghan Refugees Will Arrive in 2 Louisiana Cities

Dozens of refugees from Afghanistan are headed for Louisiana. Catholic Charities will be helping the families get settled in the state. 59 will be arriving in the next week or two. 49 will settle in Baton Rouge and the others will be sent to New Orleans.
David Aguillard with Catholic Charities in Baton Rouge says “

The American people have shown an overwhelming desire to help those from Afghanistan who risked their lives and the lives of their family members to help our troops. The news has come to us quickly, and we still have some details to work out for each arrival, but this type of work is a critical part of Catholic Charities’ Gospel mission, a work it initiated in the 1960s with arrivals from Cuba after the revolution there.

Aguillard says a full backgound check has been done on each of these refugees. They are hoping to begin new lives in a community that will offer a safe place to relocate their family away from the troubles in Afghanistan.

The federal government has chipped in cash to Catholic Charities to help these refugees with money for rent and job training. But this infusion of cash will only cover 90 days of expenses. The refugees will also get instruction on speaking English.
Catholic Charities are hoping the community will step up to help these families beyond the first 90 days.

California is set to get more than 5,000 Afghan refugees.