Our hearts are with the Afghan community both in the Sacramento region and abroad. We are in solidarity with you and are so sorry to hear what you and your loved ones are going through. We apologize that we don’t have much in the way of updates at this time. At this point in time, the Kabul Airport remains closed and the US Embassy has advised individuals not to come to the airport. As you can well imagine, we are hearing from numerous community members such as yourself, who are concerned about family and loved ones back in Afghanistan and who are seeking to be included in evacuation efforts. To the best of our knowledge, the tens of thousands of individuals with early-stage SIV, P-1/P-2, and HP submissions or other applications are not generally being included in evacuation efforts at this time.
We hope that the U.S. government will expand options for immediate relocations. If and when your family members are able to get to a third country – or if there winds up being a way for people to leave directly from Afghanistan, then we will do all we can to either assist you ourselves, OR to connect you with attorneys who can assist you.
In the meantime, please see this list of compiled resources, we hope will be beneficial to you.
If you are in Afghanistan, check the U.S. Embassy website for updates about relocation and repatriation.
Sacramento Valley Region Organizations
Resettlement Orgs
- IRC – https://www.rescue.org/country/afghanistan
- Opening Doors – https://www.openingdoorsinc.org/
- World Relief – https://worldrelief.org/sacramento/for-clients/afghan-allies/#afghans
- Sacramento Food Bank Bank & Family Services – https://www.sacramentofoodbank.org/everything-we-offer
- Catholic Charities – https://www.scd.org/catholic-charities-and-social-concerns/catholic-charities
Pars Equality Center
- Legal Resources for Afghans – https://parsequalitycenter.org/afghan-support-project/
Muslim American Society – Social Services Foundation – https://www.mas-ssf.org/
Muslim American Society-Social Services Foundation is a non-profit that aims to aid families at large and the Muslim community in particular with their social services needs.
- Mental health support
- 15-20 Afghan counselors on staff
- Support with translation language needs
- 30 counselors providing COVID-19 support
- Partnership with County of Sacramento to provide vaccination awareness and support for the local community
Al-Misbah – https://al-misbaah.org/
Al-Misbah is a 501(C)(3) providing charitable aid, refugee assistance to families in need, community education, as well as youth activities.
- Long-term financial support
- Rental assistance
- Vehicles/transportation (when available)
- Educational programs for youth
Reda – bit.ly/Hostarefugee
Refugee Enrichment and Development Association (REDA) launched an initiative to create a centralized database of available housing resources (free or paid, long or short term) that could serve the upcoming influx of refugees. All collected information will be made available to RR agencies and other community partners serving refugees.
Sen. Alex Padilla’s Office – https://www.padilla.senate.gov/afghanistan-evacuation-resources/
- Continue to send names to assess what can be done to expedite the process
- Hotline on the state department: 1-888-407-4747 (U.S. Canada) or +1-202-501-4444 (overseas)
CAIR-SV/CC
- Community advisory- https://ca.cair.com/sacval/news/afghanistan-community-advisory/
- Immigration Services Request Intake Form: https://ca.cair.com/sacval/request-immigration-assistance
- Engaging our public officials- bit.ly/evacuate-afghans
- Know Your Rights resources in Pashto and Dari – https://ca.cair.com/sacval/publications/dari-pashto/
