Roughly 200 families, about a thousand members in total, settled into San Diego’s neighborhoods, specifically El Cajon and City Heights. Upon arriving, these Syrian families are funneled into various motels. Some cases stayed as long as 50 days, while others resided for weeks at a time.
Resettlement agencies are too overwhelmed to aid in this portion of the assimilation process. Heart4Refugees was launched to fill this loophole. The organization has helped about 41 families in City Heights, and 130 plus in El Cajon. It’s a local branch of the Syrian Community Network (SCN) started by Bayanne Mihtar and Kinda Arzon.
Heart4Refugees pairs families with similar interests and needs.
Heart4Refugees has three dual language case managers, who can facilitate proper translation between both families. However, some participating families have successfully used Google Translate, or coordinated with other individuals to break down the language barrier.
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