Refugee Outreach on 6/26/10

I write to each of you today on behalf of the 1,200 refugees who live in Shiloh Village in East Dallas. The refugees who live there arrived in the U.S. as a result of war, or religious and political persecution in their native country. The refugees arrive in Houston and then are resettled in several cities in the U.S. (of which Dallas is one). The agency that sponsors them into the U.S. receives funds from the federal government for 90 days of care. Beyond that each refugee is on his or her own. The refugees at Shiloh Village and other five apartment complexes have fallen through the cracks in the system and we are working to fill those gaps.

Amazing Grace Assembly of God, in Mesquite, Texas has formed the Center for Immigration and Refugee Assistance to minister food, clothing, transportation, job referrals, ESL and life skills classes to the people at Shiloh Village. Language barriers have hindered. Having many families live in the same apartment has created a barrier to receiving food stamps for some families. We are taking a team of 30 volunteers to Shiloh Village on June 26 to interview every family to determine the needs of the people. About a week later I will produce a report to summarize the results of the needs analysis survey and begin to systematically work to help meet those needs with the goal being to help each refugee to attain self-sufficiency and become a resource to help future refugees to easily assimilate into our society (Dallas receives about 3,000 immigrants through this gateway each year).

If you would like additional information about the refugees at Shiloh Village, Amazing Grace Assembly of God in Mesquite, Texas, or about me, please reply to this email with your questions or call me at 214-243-9992, and I will be glad to answer your questions and assist you in any way that I can. Will you partner with us to help to meet the needs of the refugees from developing countries who now reside at Shiloh Village? We are planning to give away food, shoes, clothing, and books while we are at Shiloh Village on the 26th. Do you have any food or clothes that you could donate to us to give to the refugees on June 26? Please respond ASAP. God bless you. For details about our Refugee Ministry, please go to www.amgrace.org, www.newheartassembly.org