Statements

Mission

TRA creates a pathway to independence for refugees to achieve new skills and become productive community members.

Background

The Afghan resettlement effort is the largest in U.S. history. More than 70,000 Afghans were evacuated from Kabul in August of 2021 and brought to the states as parolees. Between
September 2021 and August 2022, Nashville, Tennessee received more than 700 Afghans, completely overwhelming the resettlement system. Already severely underfunded and understaffed, resettlement agencies and caseworkers could not keep up with the needs of hundreds of arrivals and the situation quickly escalated into a humanitarian crisis. In hotels all over the city, large families were crammed in single rooms for several months and were completely dependent on their caseworkers. This meant that families were going without food, often for days at a time and severe medical conditions were left untreated.
Tennessee Resettlement Aid (TRA) was formed in December of 2021 to combat this crisis and ensure that our Afghan allies ultimately receive the complete breadth of services that they were denied. Co-founded by an American and an Afghan who came to Nashville as a refugee 4 years
ago, TRA supports people through all phases of resettlement with culturally-informed programs. Our dynamic and evolutionary approach provides emergency aid as well as long-term, wrap- around support that takes people from "survive to thrive." Our critical response programs provide halal food boxes, infant supplies and home-goods to hundreds of people per week. As the population moves into the integration phase, TRA matches adults with jobs and English instruction at all levels. All of our programs are designed around specific measurements of self- sufficiency that constantly encourage independence. Through regular population surveys, TRA has built a sophisticated database with information on virtually every Afghan refugee in Nashville. This data, coupled with constant communication and hundreds of personal relationships allows us to address individual needs at their root and ensure an informed and effective response. in 2023, TRA has opened up our aid programs to any refugee in need in Nashville, regardless of nationality.

Impact

Food Delivery
• Weekly: Every Saturday morning a local food pantry packs around 30 USDA boxes with halal meat and fresh Afghani bread and TRA volunteers deliver them directly to families.
• Emergency Food: TRA staff deliver 3-5 emergency food boxes per week to newly-arrived families, walk-ins, or those in need.
Impact: 380-400 people served monthly.

Physical Donations
• 3 storage units in Nashville store furniture such as beds, couches, tables and more, home-goods (dish-ware, cookware, linens) clothing (coats, shoes and hygiene/cleaning supplies.
• Every week, TRA's Afghan Volunteer Team picks up donations from American donors and delivers items to refugee households, all free of charge.
Impact: 40 people served monthly

Health
• Arrange and transport 5-10 people monthly to vision and dental appointments paid for by TRA.
• Dental: Between $300 and $500 per person.
• Vision: Eye exam and glasses: $150 per person
• We also make appointments for telemedicine at $40.00 an appointment and then purchase medication prescribed.
Impact: 5-10 people served monthly

Men's English Class
• 45 Afghan men attend free English class four times a week, led by multi-lingual Afghan teachers.

Employment and English Program
• We have secured jobs for more than 40 people. Our aim is to hire 3 English teachers to teach at three workplaces for one hour after each shift, M-Th.
• Additionally, we match candidates with employers that meet our wage, benefits and skills development standards.
Impact: 15+ people monthly
Monthly Cost: $1,500

Transportation
• TRA Afghan volunteers transport people without cars to medical appointments, asylum interviews, enrichment programs and necessary errands (bank, groceries, etc.)
• TRA pays these drivers for their gas use.
Impact: 15 people per month

Mother's Support
• TRA has paired 5 American moms with an Afghan mother and infant. We purchase or source diapers, formula, baby supplies and clothes for the volunteers to take to their moms and babies.
Impact: 5 Afghan moms, 5 infants

Personal Refugee Support:
• Incidentals requiring funding flexibility. Uber rides for emergency transport, food-stamp shortages, cell-phones, phone bills, groceries, etc.
• Leadership uses best judgement and discusses costs with team.
Impact: 20 people monthly

Needs

TRA is in need of physical donations in the form of new or gently-used home-goods and furniture to deliver to refugee families as they settle in their new homes. We are also in need of funds to support our emergency and supplemental food program which serves dozens of people a month with culturally-appropriate food boxes and delivers it to families directly, twice a week.
Because most of our programs are run my volunteers, our capacity to serve people in need is severely limited. Therefore, we're in need of monetary donations to support our operations and growth. As Afghans progress in their resettlement journeys to self-sufficiency, TRA has opened its doors to other refugee groups in Nashville, of which there are many in need. Our aim is grow our capacity to serve 1,000 refugees a month with critical aid in the form of food, coats and shoes, kid's school supplies and home-goods for safe and comfortable homes. To do so, we are in need of funding to purchase quality items to give to our refugee families, as well as funding to provide fresh food boxes delivered to each home in need.

CEO Statement

Tennessee Resettlement Aid is first and foremost an aid organization with a mission to assist refugees on their path to self-sufficiency. Through the efforts of volunteers and donors, we bring our community together to ensure that our refugee neighbors find a warm welcome in Nashville. I believe that our work is dynamic, responsive and critically important to the short and long-term success of the families whom we serve. Because our programs cover emergency needs in the form of food and warm clothes, to more holistic support services such as English and employment, we are able to come beside refugee families and walk with them through all phases of their resettlement journeys. These services and programs to individuals and families give our volunteers the opportunity to spend time with people and ascertain their personal and pressing needs. In this way, we build friendships between Americans and refugees and the bonds that come out of these friendships are incredibly important to security and mental health for our clients. We encourage donor involvement and work to support and engage dozens of volunteers in our programs, which encourages friendships and personal connections. In the same vein, these connections between volunteers and refugees has a positive effect on those who come alongside our mission of service. Engaging with and learning from refugee families makes space for education, compassion and tolerance to grow in our city and I look forward to seeing the ripples of our work in the larger Nashville community.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Human Services  - Ethnic/Immigrant Services
Secondary Category:	-
Tertiary Category:	-

Areas Served

TN - Davidson