In April, I met with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) about the tens of thousands of refugees living in Dallas. Here is what I learned:
Each year, the President sets a cap on the number of refugees that the US will shelter. In 2010, the US will accept up to 80,000 refugees, though for some reason, we usually don’t usually process anywhere close to the full number allowed. There is a cap of 2,500 refugees from Europe and Central Asia combined. 710 refugees came to Dallas via the IRC last year — 450 from Burma, 120 from Bhutan, 80 from Iraq, and the rest from other various countries. The Iraqi refugees are by far the most educated, but there are a lot of Bhutanese refugees, specifically in Vickery Meadow, who have little education.
Most of the refugees who come to Dallas live in Vickery Meadow (which is several square miles, northeast of Central Expressway and Northwest Highway), although there is a strong group of Burmese refugees in Lewisville. Vickery Meadow makes sense for a number of reasons: there are already lots of refugees nearby, rent is cheap, it’s within walking distance of the Dallas IRC headquarters, and people can have easy access to DART. I was told that there are “10′s of thousands” of refugees in Dallas, most of them living in Vickery Meadow, and the number is going to grow quite a bit over the next several years.
Refugees assisted by the IRC are provided with financial assistance for 120 days, and the goal is to get them familiar with their surroundings, working, and able to more or less provide for themselves within that time frame. Most of the refugees get food stamps and Medicaid within a few weeks of arriving. The food stamps can be renewed after the initial 4 months, depending on employment.
One of the IRC’s goals is to try to pair each family up with a mentor. It’s a 6-month mentorship program that just involves a volunteer spending about 2 hours a week, on average, with a refugee family, helping them practice their English, helping answer their questions and show them around, helping explain western culture, helping with job applications, etc. However, with around 60 volunteers and 710 refugees last year alone, they are quite understaffed. There are many other agencies and nonprofits working in the same neighborhoods but with their own refugees — it didn’t seem like they worked together much, but it may be that I just didn’t get to see that level of the operation.
To learn more or get involved, head to the Dallas IRC website. They will be happy to answer any questions.