Written by Ann Carlson

In February 2023, two members of the Ghebreyohannes family arrived from Kenya after fleeing first from Eritrea, which has a government led by a brutal dictator. The third member of their family arrived three months later in May 2023 because of the USA Refugee resettlement rules. The family consists of a disabled mom, Shemaish, and her two adult daughters, Saron (age 27) and Nyata (age 24).
The USA Government provides funding for a family to use during the settlement process that is extremely limited in the amount of time they are eligible to receive it and in how much money they receive. Refugees get hooked up with a refugee resettlement agency that helps them in the initial stages of settlement, which involves getting a social security number, a work permit, housing, household furnishings and clothes, and learning how to find a job. They also get connected with health care and are quickly shown how to use the bus system and how the money system works. The obligation of the Refugee Resettlement Program to help a family only lasts three months. In the case of the Ghebreyohannes family, the resettlement help and cash assistance ended before the family was quite ready to be totally on their own.
Through the referral of another refugee family who had received help from HAUMC seven years earlier, HAUMC people got connected with the Ghebreyohannes family and have provided them various kinds of guidance and support to help them become self-sufficient with an affordable place to live and a reliable income.
What did HAUMC people do to support the Ghebreyohannes family’s self-sufficiency?
First, we met with the family to inquire about their needs that could be met by the church. The following needs were identified:
– The family needed some additional household furnishings.
– They needed guidance about job seeking immediately with no specific job skill vs. job seeking after getting a job skill.
– They needed guidance about selecting a college as both young women identified that they wanted to go to college.
– They needed to find a bigger apartment to accommodate three people on a bus line.
– Most of all, they identified the need for subsidy of their rent until they could get job training and find a job that would pay enough to cover the rent.
– Mom, Shemaish, identified that she needs to learn to speak, read, and write English.
Through advertising in Hennepin Happenings, church members donated needed household furnishings that were delivered by Ann Carlson, Jessica Shyrack, and Sandy Christie. Ann Carlson worked with Saron and Nyata to find a well-respected program to get trained as nursing assistants. Through networking with friends, Saron found a job as a dietary aide in a nursing home, which she started in May 2023. After getting the nursing assistant training, Saron shifted to working as a nursing assistant in the same nursing home where she was a dietary aide. After Nyata completed the nursing assistant training, she immediately got a job working in the same nursing home as her sister.
Shortly after Nyata arrived in the USA, the family needed to find a bigger apartment. Ann Carlson helped them with the apartment search, and they found a suitable two-bedroom place on a bus line. The rent on the new apartment was several hundred dollars higher than their one-bedroom apartment. They needed subsidy help with the rent while they were getting the training to become nursing assistants. HAUMC came through when an anonymous donor donated enough money to help subsidize their rent for one year. The Ghebreyohannes young women paid one-third of the rent for six months. After six months, they paid two-thirds of the rent, and after one year, they are paying all of the rent. In addition to getting nursing assistant training, they have each completed a year of college, quite a feat when they are each working full time and going to school full time.
In addition to getting training and full-time jobs, the Ghebreyohannes family has been able to purchase a used car and have prevailed upon their friends to teach them how to drive. Saron recently got her driver’s license and now drives herself and her sister to work, school, and other appointments.
Shemaish has been dealing with her health problems, especially getting fitted for an artificial leg. She has engaged in physical therapy to learn to walk. Because her daughters are busy going to school and working all day, Shemaish is giving thought to going to school to learn to speak, read, and write English. Ann Carlson is working with her to find an appropriate ESL program and muster the courage to enroll in it and travel to the class on her own.
When working with the Ghebreyohannes family, I can’t help but admire the courage and resilience this family has shown in fleeing their country, staying in another country for several years, and deciding to go through the application process to become a refugee to the USA, a process which takes years. They have eagerly sought out the educational opportunities that are available in the USA and are grateful to build a new life. They are also grateful to HAUMC for providing them with the subsidy of their rent, which enabled both young women to get trained as nursing assistants where they earn enough money to support their family.