Monday, June 25, 2007
Volunteers worry incoming refugees could stretch them thin

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) _ More than 130 refugees are expected to arrive in Concord this year, but many of the people who help them are asking if the new neighbors might be overwhelming.

Concord has been a relocation site for Lutheran Social Services since 1998, bringing a total of 500 refugees from places such as Yugoslavia and Somalia. But the spike this year, mostly from Burundi, has brought concern among local volunteers.

"Everyone is stretched thin," said Schuyler Merritz, a volunteer with the loosely organized Concord Multicultural Project that helps the refugees settle into their new homes.

Lutheran Social Services, a federal contractor to relocate refugees to the United States, is expected to place 132 people in the Concord area through October. Already, 26 Burundian refugees have arrived.

"If we get the 80 Burundians, I don't know who is going to be here to help them, because everybody is running their legs off," said Sue O'Connor, another volunteer.

Lutheran Social Services provides support to the refugees for about six months. After that, local volunteers in Concord, Manchester and Laconia step in to help new residents translate mail, pay bills, navigate social service programs and get around.

"No resettlement agency can ever do the work alone," said Carol Pierce, who chairs the Laconia human relations committee. "If the communities do not respond beyond the resettlement agency, there's no way the refugees can be taken care of."
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070625/NEWS0201/70625025