Afghan refugees at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., embrace family members Sept. 2, before boarding buses that will take them to a processing center. The Charlotte diocese is preparing to welcome 240 Afghan evacuees to Charlotte and Asheville in coming months. (CNS | Evelyn Hockstein, Reuters)CHARLOTTE — Amid a national housing shortage particularly severe in North Carolina, the Diocese of Charlotte’s Catholic Charities agency is working overtime to find homes for an expected surge of refugees heading to Charlotte and Asheville in coming months – including roughly 240 Afghan evacuees fleeing their war-torn homeland.
Catholic Charities’ Refugee Resettlement program needs hundreds of apartments and rental homes throughout Mecklenburg and Buncombe counties where families can settle as case workers connect them to health, employment, and other services outlined by the federal government. Some refugees served as interpreters or provided other assistance to the U.S. military during the war in Afghanistan – among tens of thousands of Afghans evacuated when the U.S. military ended operations there last month.
IN SUMMARY
- Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte expects to resettle 200 Afghan evacuees in Charlotte and 40 in Asheville in coming months. Included are men, women and children.
- Catholic Charities needs the community’s help to identify affordable rental housing available for these individuals and families. Needed are 1- to 3-bedroom rentals in Mecklenburg and Buncombe counties and surrounding areas.
- The Afghan evacuees come in addition to an increase in approximately 550 refugees from around the world that the diocese is already expecting to welcome over the next year.
- How you can help: Contribute online at ww.ccdoc.org. For inquiries, call 1-800-227-7261 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Catholic Charities needs independent rentals ranging in size from one to three bedrooms – not room or house sharing – and is flexible on length of leases.
A severe lack of affordable housing has plagued many North Carolina communities and in March, the National Low-Income Housing Coalition found a U.S. shortage of nearly 7 million affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters.
“We have never seen rental housing so tight – we really need help from the community to secure homes for these individuals and families coming from chaotic circumstances with little more than the clothes they’re wearing,” said Sandy Buck, who heads Catholic Charities’ refugee resettlement program, with offices in Charlotte and Asheville. “Much of the housing we have relied on for years is not available, so we are praying people who can help will reach out in this crisis.”
While financial and operating agreements are not yet finalized, Catholic Charities expects to resettle 200 Afghan evacuees in Charlotte and 40 in Asheville over the next several months – in addition to an anticipated increase of refugee families from elsewhere around the world.
After a sharp decline during the Trump administration, the number of refugees being resettled by the diocese was already expected to rise beginning this fall. In addition to Afghan evacuees, Charlotte is slated to resettle 400 refugees and Asheville 150 over the next year. The refugees will include men, women and children.
Bishop Peter Jugis has lauded the work of the Church in resettling individuals and families from places of strife.
“As Catholics we respond to the Biblical call to welcome the stranger – it is an act of love and hope…” Jugis previously told the Catholic News Herald. “We have decades of experience in settling thousands of families fleeing persecution in their native country. These people have made a rich contribution to the life and culture of western North Carolina. I join with my brother bishops in the effort to work vigorously to ensure that refugees are humanely welcomed without sacrificing our security or our core values as Americans.”
Catholic Charities works in partnership with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the U.S. State Department to resettle refugees fleeing war, political upheaval, or religious, economic or ethnic persecution.
It’s unclear exactly when the Afghan evacuees will arrive, which could begin in coming days. Many are already in the U.S., housed temporarily on military bases as background checks are being completed and resettlement agencies prepare. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is conducting COVID-19, health and security screenings, and service agreements are still being drafted between the federal government and the USCCB, which runs the largest refugee resettlement program in the United States.
The diocese typically resettles between 300 and 400 refugees each year, many of whom have ties in the U.S. or who have U.S. sponsors.
Catholic Charities provides refugees the individualized assistance they need to start new lives in the United States – including housing assistance, job training, counseling help, school registration, health care referrals, community and cultural orientation, budgeting and financial education, interpretation services, referrals to English classes, and more.
The guidance helps refugees acculturate and become self-sufficient, productive members of their community. They pay taxes, re-pay travel expenses, and most adults find jobs within three to five months, ultimately becoming financially independent and homeowners, Catholic Charities’ case workers note.
In anticipation of the refugee arrivals, Catholic Charities is adding three case workers in Charlotte and Asheville.
Since 1975, the diocese has resettled more than 14,000 refugees representing 61 nationalities.
How can you help?
- Most critical is the need for hundreds of independent and affordable rental homes and apartments in Charlotte and Asheville, for which Catholic Charities provides flexible terms and reliable lease payments.
- Catholic Charities also encourages financial donations and family sponsorship to aid its refugee resettlement work. Contributions can be made securely online at www.ccdoc.org or mailed to Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, N.C. 28203.
- Donations of furniture and household items, as well as volunteers to pick up donations and help set up apartments, are also welcome.
- For inquiries, call 1-800-227-7261 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— Catholic News Herald