Page 22 - Samaritas Our Hands Spring 2023

NEW AMERICANS

New Federal Funding for Ukrainian Support

We're excited to share that Samaritas has been awarded two federal contracts to help more of Michigan’s Ukrainian Refugees heal
and resettle peacefully in our communities.
As a result of the federal Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations
Act (AUSAA), Samaritas will have enough funds to serve 325 Ukrainian
Humanitarian Parolees between April 1, to September 30, 2023, and up to
650 Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees during the fiscal year of 2024 to
eligible Ukrainian individuals and families residing in key
Michigan counties.

This financial support significantly bolsters the existing Samaritas New
American Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee Assistance Services (UHPAS)
program. It will allow Samaritas staff to provide more personalized attention
to more clients. It will help the agency staff the new Ukrainian Help Center
in Warren, which opened earlier this year to assist with the influx of UHPS-
eligible refugees.

Like other New American programs, Samaritas will help refugees in its care
get help for basic Refugee Resettlement Services. With the new funding for
UHPAS-eligible refugees, Samaritas can bring on even more bilingual
professionals to help Ukrainian refugees navigate the complicated system of
finding sponsors, job placement programs, and other resources.

Volunteers are always needed to provide cultural mentorship, social integration, transportation, and formal financial sponsorship for
Ukrainian Refugee families.

Contact Sofia Ortiz at Sofia.Ortiz-Carro@samaritas.org to learn more about this new contract or how you can help Michigan's
Ukrainian refugees.

Samaritas Awarded New ORR Grant

We are pleased to announce we were awarded the Office of Refugee
Resettlement (ORR) grant to reopen our 24-bed shelter in Grand
Rapids at the D.A. Blodgett facility. This is our first direct funding
relationship with this federal partner, on the road to many more!

Many teams at Samaritas worked hard to accomplish this and it is so
rewarding. We will begin planning and implementation
immediately. Your continued support and team work is vital to our
success in opening this “mission driven” program to help our
refugee youth.

Mentors will be needed for this group of young people. To get
involved, email our volunteer coordinator Kayla Park at
Kayla.Park@samaritas.org

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