Helping Refugees and Immigrants

Millions of people have been displaced from their homes over the past decade due to war, poverty, and persecution. Refugees often arrive in a new country with very little in the way of possessions or connections. People all over the world want to help immigrants find their place and feel comfortable in their new homes; however, it can often be difficult to discern what someone needs most, or what the best way to help is. Here are some suggestions for ways to help immigrants and refugees who are relocating to your community.

Offer a Place to Stay

One of the most pressing issues facing someone arriving in a new country is finding a place to live. If you have any extra room in your house, or if you have other properties that are currently unoccupied, consider offering to let refugees stay in your home. This is a great way to ensure that they feel welcome in your community and that they can recover from what is often a difficult and upsetting journey.

Volunteer Your Time and Skills

If you have a specific set of skills that you think might be useful to immigrants, consider volunteering your time. Many aspects of everyday life are lost when relocating to a new country, so providing your expertise for things like teaching a new language or organizing a community sports team for refugees can help provide a stabilizing influence for new community members. If you’re looking for a more structured volunteer experience, most areas have programs that can help you directly work with refugees to provide needed assistance.

Provide Something to Do

If you’re a business owner or you work with a nonprofit, consider extending opportunities for refugees to work or volunteer at your company. Most people don’t want to spend all day doing nothing, so if you can provide a productive way for immigrants to build and use their skills, it can be a great help. Going out of your way to hire refugees can also provide much-needed income and stability.

Donate

Of course, donating money is one of the most direct and well-known ways to assist refugees, but that does not diminish its effectiveness. If you have any money to spend, consider donating to a charity that focuses on helping displaced people. Depending on where you live, you may also be able to donate specific items that are needed to keep people safe and comfortable.

However you choose to assist immigrants, you can be assured that your contributions are making an impact on people who desperately need assistance and that you have made a definitively positive contribution to your community. If you’re looking for a meaningful way to spend your time or money, consider becoming involved with a charity that supports displaced persons.

About Francesca Rome-Marie

Working out of Denmark, Francesca Rome-Marie is a compassionate and dedicated healthcare professional who has spent her life building a career in the service of others. She works in areas focused on health, humanitarian aid, and human development particularly focused on the nonprofit/not-for-profit sectors doing work in underserved and marginalized communities.

Throughout her career, Francesca Rome-Marie’s work and experience have helped her to develop skills in multiple areas. Her experience includes family medicine, nursing, family nursing, primary care, community health, mental health, global health, medicine, research, reproductive health, preventative medicine, and family nursing. She is also skilled in areas that include human rights activism, crisis counselling, sexuality education, gender theory, gender studies, cross-cultural communication skills, humanitarian assistance and intervention, interpersonal communication, nonprofit organizations, and disaster response, recovery, and preparedness. She is also known for her collaborative problem-solving abilities and disaster risk reduction capabilities.

Francesca Rome-Marie has developed a particular passion for work in areas regarding sexuality and gender as well as refugees, forced displacement, health, and rights. She is especially focused on improving access to care, visibility, and research while implementing programs dedicated to vulnerable populations, including women, girls, LGBTQI+ individuals, and sex workers, including any individuals who overlap between the three. She has worked previously doing research on LGBTQI needs within the humanitarian sphere.