The City of Lincoln is getting ready to roll out the welcome mat for some of the hundreds of Afghan refugees who will be resettling in Nebraska.
“I would ask anyone in our community who cares about that transition considers extending a hand to a family in need that’s arriving,” Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird to LNK Today with Jack and Friends. “We can donate supplies and services, we can host families, we can sponsor refugees to help them make their new life here.”
She says the city is working closely with local refugee resettlement agencies, non-profit organizations and the state “to make sure we have a smooth transition into our community for our new neighbors,” Gaylor Baird says. It’s not known how many or when the refugees will arrive.
“Our refugee neighbors provide really valuable skills in our workforce, they enhance our city’s culture so we’re ready to welcome them with open arms,” Gaylor Baird says. “But we know it’s going to be challenging for many of them having experienced trauma and having language barriers.”
775 refugees from Afghanistan are on their way to Nebraska under a resettlement plan unveiled by President Biden last week. Most will resettle in Omaha and Lincoln.