Volunteers preparing to welcome 765 Afghan refugees to Utah
Oct 19, 2021, 11:00 PM
SALT LAKE CITY — More than 700 Afghan refugees are expected to arrive in Utah in the next few months.
About a dozen have already cleared customs and are now beginning the difficult process of settling into their new lives.
Many Utahns are offering their homes and time in an effort to help them feel at home.
“How very challenging that must be for them, having left family and their home and coming to a strange land,” said Maxine Turner, a Salt Lake woman who is donating time, money and goods to refugees.
Turner figures anyone can contribute, and they don’t need a formal role to give.
She recently retired, but she has a lot of connections after running a successful catering business, called Cuisine Unlimited, for four decades.
She’s leveraging those connections to try to find scholarships for incoming refugees, financial assistance and basic household needs.
Turner said her grandmother’s immigration from Greece inspired her to want to connect at the moment that they’ll need it most.
“By having the diversity of cultures, that makes a community stronger and better. It certainly is well known that Salt Lake City is a gracious community. We want to make sure that standard is maintained,” she said.
Salt Lake County’s refugee assistance program expects refugees will be provided with basic needs and a space to live, but they will need other comforts and necessities throughout the coming months.