Lincoln a safe haven: How Lincoln may respond to Ukrainian refugees

You may know by now that Russia and Ukraine are not friends. At this moment, much of the world is unsure about what could happen next. Something that we can be sure of, though, is that there is a high possibility that there will be a large number of refugees that come to Lincoln.

According to the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, “in the 1980’s, immigration of the refugee population began to increase in Lincoln and Lancaster County.” Lincoln’s current number of resettled refugees numbers over 5,000. The institute goes on to say that “…Nebraska has become fifth in refugee resettlement per capita when compared with states of similar population, and half of the state's refugees for the last 18 years resided in Lincoln.”

Refugees from every continent now reside here in Lincoln. The most refugees have come from the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Ukraine.

The requirements for being able to come to Lincoln as a refugee are pretty clear. Among the eligibility requirements listed at Lutheran Family Services are: people with special needs, members of the LGBTQ community, single parents, the medically vulnerable and youth or young adults without parents or permanent guardians who have spent an unusually long period in displaced situations.

Lincoln has been viewed as a very welcoming place for refugees. The community has worked hard for this place to be viewed as a safe haven for refugees. As such, many nonprofits have already been working to meet the needs of new refugees. At the beginning of February, there were an estimated 800 Afghan refugees that came here to Lincoln. Barnabas Community was able to hold a clothing drive for the refugees before they got here to Lincoln. They were also able to provide housing. 

Executive Director Dwight Thiemann said there’s a learning curve, but the end goal is always to help. “So many times, we don’t know what the needs are, and we struggle with that, but now you know what the needs are anything that you would need if you were going to a new country to start a new life.”

https://lancaster.unl.edu/community/articles/lincolnrefugeesdoc.shtml

https://www.lfsneb.org/service/refugee-support-program-lincoln/

By TJ Pittenger