Santa Clara Co. Supes OK Funding Increase For Afghan Refugees

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — To help resettle refugees fleeing Afghanistan, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved nearly $900,000 in funding on Tuesday for two agencies providing services to those arriving in the county.

Approximately 300 Afghan refugees are expected to arrive in Santa Clara County in the next 12 months, an increase from approximately 50 who resettled over the past year, according to the county.

The Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley (JFS) and International Rescue Committee (IRC) are the two agencies authorized in Santa Clara County to provide resettlement services to Afghan families fleeing Afghanistan. JFS already resettled 25 refugees in August and another 17 are expected in the coming weeks, according to a staff report.

“The task before us is to take refugees from being dependent on the system to that of being self-sufficient contributors to society,” said Mindy Berkowitz, the executive director of JFS.

Berkowitz said that the biggest need for refugees is finding below-market-rate housing. Refugees often need housing stipends of up to $2,500 per month to cover their first few months in the county until they can find jobs.

Around 50,000 people, or one in 40 residents, in Santa Clara County are refugees and have relied on county services. The county currently has contracts with JFS and IRC for $180,000 each to fund English as a Second Language classes and career counseling. The funding will increase to $250,000 each, allowing the organizations to increase staffing, according to a staff report.

An additional $750,000 in one-time funding will support rental assistance, food, shelter, clothing, technology and transportation for the refugees, according to the county.

“I know that $750,000 sounds like a huge ask, but when you realize it’s going to be divided among at least 200 households, it’s not excessive,” Berkowitz said.

Supervisor Otto Lee, a retired U.S. Navy commander who served as the chief of Drawdown Material Policies in Iraq in 2009, said the issues resulting from the United States’ drawdown in Afghanistan are personal to him. Lee said he was “appalled by the lack of proper planning,” as well as the images of people clinging to planes at the Kabul Airport.

“Few of them made it out during this chaotic drawdown,” Lee said. “They protected us then, and now we have the honor, the duty and the moral responsibility to care for them and their families to transition to their new lives here.”

Visit the websites for JFS and IRC for more information.