WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — A group of Religious leaders in Wausau is hoping to help settle dozens of vetted and screened refugees in the region in the next few years.
After meeting with the group led by First United Methodist Church Pastor Rebecca Voss, the Ethiopian Community Development Council has selected Wausau to receive around 75 approved refugees from Africa and the Middle East. Voss says it started as an idea in a Bible Study group that grew over time.
“We really were studying Christian hospitality, what it means to welcome the stranger and how we can be a place of refuge, safety, and healing for those who have been through some pretty traumatic experiences,” said Voss. “They have no place to call home, but we can create a community of love and respect for one another.”
The group is working with the ECDC, one of nine nationally recognized resettlement agencies. Voss says the group met them at “the right time and the right place,” to get the idea moving forward through a series of meetings with Voss’ group and some local businesses.
“They met with community leaders in both the non-profit sector and business sector, and really it led to a diversity of people being in solid agreement that we need refugees probably more than they need us,” she said. “They are resilient, many of them have been through a lot of trauma, so they will need a lot of compassion as they get resettled. But, we do know that they will strengthen our community.”
She adds that’s especially true since many refugees are hard workers who can help fill some of the jobs that have been sitting vacant as the region comes out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Voss understands that for some the idea of bringing refugees from their home nation to Central Wisconsin is uncomfortable but because of groups like ECDC people can feel good about those who may be brought here to begin a new life. They have often been waiting three years or longer while the United Nations conducts background checks. Once it’s determined they will be resettled in the United States, a new wave of checks begins.
“Before being allowed to become a refugee in the United States; they are thoroughly vetted by the FBI, CIA, the State Department. [They also get] a medical screening, education screening, job screening- all of those things. Only about two percent of refugees that are even considered for placement in our country because it is such a selective process,” said Voss.
“Refugees are not a burden but a true blessing to our community,” she added.
She went on to say that the group is not looking for any public money or support from the city. Each refugee would be paired up with a sponsorship group such as a Church, Bible Study group, book club, or anyone else with a desire to help out. They would provide some money upfront- around $2,000 or so- to get the refugees into a rental property with some light furnishings and furniture.
Then they would be expected to show them basics such as how to navigate the public transit system, use the library, get them set up with healthcare, get their children registered for school, and any other life skills they may need help with as they look to build a life in the region.
Voss adds that despite the name “Ethiopia” being in the name of the group they are working with, there would be people from other African countries brought to the area along with some from Burma, Afghanistan, and Iraq. That could also include interpreters who worked with the US military during the recent wars in both nations.
The first refugees could be settled by October of this year. Others will be placed throughout 2022.
