skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Beyond the Protests: How to Help Refugees in Michigan

play audio
Play

Thursday, February 16, 2017   

DETROIT – With President Donald Trump's travel ban currently on hold and refugees once again allowed to resettle in Michigan, those who work with them hope people will channel their efforts into helping the refugees adjust.

The faith-based, human services organization Samaritas has been helping resettle refugees in Michigan for more than 60 years, and spokeswoman Lynne Golodner says Samaritas is always looking for mentors.

She says that includes helping refugees with conversational English, finding their way around their new towns and just generally adapting to life in this country.

"We need volunteers that can help refugees learn how to shop in our grocery stores, and go to our banks, and really understand our culture,” she states. “Those things that we take for granted that we do every day may be really foreign to somebody who's been living in another country."

While many people want to donate clothing, Golodner says because the organization typically has very little notice of the ages and sizes of the families who are arriving, monetary donations and gift cards – as well as things such as museum or zoo memberships – can go a long way toward helping meet their needs.

In the past few weeks, thousands of people across the state have rallied in support of refugees, but Golodner says there is still much misinformation about who the refugees are, and what they go through to get here.

"What's unbelievable is that there is such a perception of fear of refugees, because refugees have gone through the worst traumas on the planet,” she relates. “When we see the human side of it, I think it changes the conversation. "

Golodner says Samaritas is currently experiencing almost daily arrivals, including the 28 refugees from Iraq and Syria whose resettlement had to be halted when the White House travel ban first went into place.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021