Eugene’s Refugee and Immigrant Services program recently moved its offices downtown. Over the past year, the agency has given hundreds of people legal help, and resettled dozens to the Eugene area.
Director Christine Zeller-Powell said the new location is next door to the library, the main bus station, and LCC’s downtown campus.
“One of my favorite new things," she told KLCC, "is clients will go to their LCC English language classes and then they’ll come, walk down the block, and come in our office, and practice their English small talk with us and it’s wonderful. I love it.”
Zeller-Powell said proximity to Lane County Public Health, where many newcomers get vaccinations and medical screenings, and St. Mary’s Catholic Church, which provides meeting space, is also key.
Next year, the program will be a full refugee affiliate, expecting to welcome at least 50 individuals. Zeller-Powell said the State Department’s priorities include Syrians, Afghans, Rohingya people from Myanmar, and people from Central America and Haiti.
Zeller Powell said around 40 people from Afghanistan, mostly men, have resettled here, many through Operation Allies Refuge. She hopes the program can bring the wives and children of some of those refugees to Eugene in 2024, but said it’s been difficult for the State Department to work with the Taliban, and with family members who might not have the right documentation.
She said they’ve aided quite a few Ukrainians, especially with help finding work, but that people from Ukraine generally resettle through a private sponsorship program.
