USCRI gets big federal grant to teach senior
refugees English, by Ann Corcoran 2/6/18
Why do they need to speak English if
they aren’t going out into the workplace? Because, of course, USCRI (one of nine
federal refugee contractors) and others on the No Borders Left want to be sure
they can pass a citizenship test and ultimately vote.
In 2016, Albany USCRI director, Jill
Peckenpaugh, said USCRI, which controls the turf there, had admitted over 3,000
refugees to Albany since 2005.
And, know that even if the refugee
flow into the country is slowing down, federal grants are still going out for
various and sundry ‘needs’ of the refugee community.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is
still sending out millions of dollars that is helping the contractors stay
financially afloat through the Trump admissions slowdown.
(New readers might want to see that
the US
Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) recently ditched its
longtime leader—-Lavinia Limon—here.)
Yes, elder refugees are
eligible for Social Security benefits!
And, before I get to the story at
the Albany
Times Union about USCRI’s $180,000 grant, readers need to know that
we admit refugees to the US who are over 65 years old and that they are
eligible for Supplemental Security Income(see here).
Curious about how many senior
citizen refugees we admit, I checked some numbers at Wrapsnet. I couldn’t find an over
all number so here are some selected ethnic groups.
From FY09 to today we admitted
refugees over 65 years old from (I only looked up a few nationalities!):
Burma (1,844)
Bhutan (4,458)
Iraq (5,099)
Somalia (598)
Syria (207)
Surely, for the whole refugee population from every country, the number
of refugees eligible for SSI in the last ten years must be 20,000-30,000!
And, I don’t know if the refugee
industry advocates got rid of the rule (they were trying) that requires the
senior refugee to attain citizenship in seven years or become ineligible to
continue receiving their gratis SSI. (Too lazy this morning to search for it!)
USCRI Albany is
being paid by you, the US taxpayer, to help senior refugees get their
services and is seeking volunteers in Albany because Albany has run
out of American senior citizens in need of volunteer help.
And, btw, the volunteers will do the
actual work while some USCRI staffer is paid with the grant money to
‘administer’ the program.
From the Albany Times Union: ALBANY — When 64-year-old Raaida Aldabass first came to
the U.S. from Syria one year ago, she used to cry every day that she wanted to
go back to her country. “But now it is better, she is happy because she’s
learning the language,” Rana Safeih, Aldabass’ daughter, said in Arabic. Aldabass
is one of nearly 30 senior citizen refugees receiving ENL tutoring sessions.
These sessions are just one of multiple new services the Albany chapter
of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants has been providing to its
older refugee population after receiving a three-year, $180,000 grant in
January 2017.
“The main idea is to connect refugees with already-existing services,”
said Jake Slutzky, program coordinator at USCRI-Albany.
The program, called Services to
Older Refugees, is broken up into two categories: community outreach and
education, and intensive case management. USCRI provides their nearly 30 older refugees
extensive assistance in areas such as housing, medical care, legal assistance
and social integration, to name a few.
“Folks need to learn English and pass the U.S. citizenship test, but do not have the mobility to get to class,” Slutzky
said. “Volunteers go to the refugees’ homes to teach them English at a time
that the grandchildren or children who speak English are home, so they can help
with the lesson. Besides helping with ENL, you’re helping an elderly person
keep their mind active and become self-sufficient.” More here.
And, this isn’t just happening in
Albany, here is a story from Phoenix about elder refugees who have many needs,
including mental health needs.
By the way, if you wonder why USCRI
supports the DACA kids and every other group of illegal aliens here in the US,
just know that if amnesty is granted, USCRI and the other contractors expect to be hired by the feds to help the
‘New Americans’ get their services too!
These are the nine federal
contractors paid by you to
place refugees in to hundreds of towns and cities via their subcontractors (see directory of offices).
The number in parenthesis is the
percentage of their income paid
by you (the taxpayer) to place those refugees and get them signed
up for their services (like SSI)!
USCRI is 98% taxpayer funded!
https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/uscri-gets-big-federal-grant-to-teach-senior-refugees-english/
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