It’s March 1. I’ve journeyed from the radio station to the ninth floor of a high-rise in the middle of Springfield. It’s the office of the International Institute of Southwest Missouri. They’re a small nonprofit with a motley crew of unpaid volunteers, plus 16 staffers.
Mitch Brashers shows me around his office. It’s decorated with items from around the world, including batik art from West Africa, but also a classic Superman poster. Around the cartoon superhero, kids gather.
Mitch describes the poster: "[Superman] says, ‘And remember, boys and girls, your school — like our country — is made up of Americans of many different races, religions and national origins, so if you hear anybody talk against a schoolmate or anyone else because of his religion, race or national origin — don't wait to tell him that kind of talk is Un-American.’ “
Mitch does community engagement for the Institute, a career switch after many years managing a music retail shop.
Volunteers told me the International Institute is going through “growing pains” as staff work to keep up with migrants from around the globe. The Institute, aided by volunteers, provides guidance and care for these refugees. That’s to say, people forced to flee their home countries — and start life over in places like Springfield, Missouri.
Gaining refugee status approval is no small thing, Mitch explains. It includes a "full biomedical scan, in-depth interviews, usually two or three interviews. It’s a long process, it takes about two to three years to get it done.”
That process includes a grueling gauntlet of vetting and security approvals from the United Nations and the United States. Mitch says it's “in-depth, like an in-depth background check like you’d go through anything else, where they're looking at political affiliations, they’re looking at making sure you don’t have any — there's no red flags when you’re maybe being a threat to them when you’re coming into the country, and the family members as well."
I asked, "So they’d be checking for like, law violations in the home country, but also, you know, is this person associated with someone on a known United States terrorist [watch list], you know, as listed by United States authorities?"
"Exactly," Mitch replied. "Yes. That type of thing."
Mitch and his colleagues are experiencing what he calls “exponentially increasing” activity right now. Last year, they resettled 150 refugees. This year, they’re looking at double that. Or more. And the Institute’s commitment is significant, and potentially lasting long after the first 90 days after a refugee family arrives in the Ozarks.
“Now, we offer services up to five years beyond that" 90-day period, Mitch says. "But in that 90 days — and every organization like us has the same set of guidelines that we do — that 90 days, they have everything completed, all documented, everything put together. So you can see all that type of stuff, public transportation, we do bus training for all new people.”
The idea is to guide refugee families toward full independence without major delay.
“The other side is the workforce," Mitch says. "So obviously one of the big things — used to be, you know, every refugee gets a certain amount of money that’s a stipend to them to get resettled in. And a good chunk of that is automatically taken with rent and getting their household set up, like all the administrative things we do. And then we try to get that remainder and pay in for rent. We used to be able to do like five or six months onto it, now we’re looking like one or two months in advance, so — because housing is just so more expensive these days. So our goal — it’s a lot more critical now for my workforce [coworkers] to be able to get them in, to get them working as quickly as possible.”
The one-time federal stipend is around $2,300 per refugee, Mitch says. According to a recent fact-checking article by the Associated Press, it’s a common misconception that approved refugees get monthly payments of roughly that amount. But that’s not the case. It's a one-time expense.
I asked Mitch about the biggest challenges for refugees getting resettled here. He cites transportation, because of Springfield’s limited public transit system, and language, for those from countries where English isn't spoken.
After chatting with Mitch, I sat in on a meeting including Rebekah Thomas, director of the International Institute, and several volunteers donating time and resources toward helping refugees resettling in the Ozarks.
Rebekah told the volunteers, “So, I need a way to communicate to the community about just the value of the work we do and so that’s what I’m trying to do is kind of, like, and get the community more involved and realize how enriched they can be by being involved in this work.
Volunteer Becky Meadows replied, "And you are, you are. I mean, I was a nurse for 42 years — and I think I’m more fulfilled now than I was in nursing."
In another Sense of Community story, I report on one volunteer, Marga Pogue. She’s part of a group with her church. They’re helping a young Afghan family in Springfield. Folks who were admitted into the United States almost three years ago, not long after the Taliban took over Kabul.
Marga told me about early conversations with the Afghan people she's helping to guide as they resettle in the Ozarks.
“I mean, they had not played at a park, I don’t think, I don’t know when, and Dad said to me, ‘This is the first time they have laughed since they left Afghanistan.’ ”
