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Resources for Sponsors

For Sponsors of Refugees

You have just done something big. You have decided to sponsor a refugee in their resettlement journey in your community. The role is unlike that of a parent or friend and requires some training and guidance as you accompany people as they rebuild their lives.

The guidelines below are mostly meant for US-born sponsors of refugees. If you yourself immigrated to the United States and are now sponsoring family members to join you, but the obstacles to resettling your family are overwhelming your resources, please reach out to IWR at ithacawelcomesrefugees@gmail.com. We can help.

Guidelines for Sponsors of Refugees

Set Goals

Once the person or people you are sponsoring have arrived in the US, hold a meeting to set some resettlement goals. Some will be immediate, some will be medium-term, and some will be long-term. It is important to check in at regular intervals with those you are sponsoring regarding progress towards meeting goals. It is also important that the goals be directed by refugees themselves, with your guidance and assistance.

Recognize autonomy

It may be tempting to perform resettlement tasks for refugees you are sponsoring, or to make decisions on their behalf. Refugees arrive to a new country in a vulnerable position, often face intimidating hurdles such as not speaking English, and have experienced trauma. Still, it is best to recognize that refugees are fully autonomous people, who can and should make decisions about what’s best for their own lives, sometimes with the provision of relevant information regarding their new home. If you catch yourself thinking, “They really should do this,” reach out to the person or family you are sponsoring and check to see what they think is best.

Self-sufficiency is the best path to agency

The line graph of sponsor aid provided to refugees as time passes from their arrival date to the US should be diagonal, dipping to the right. When refugees first arrive in the US, their needs for things like housing, food, employment, and English classes will be high. As time passes and they work toward their resettlement goals with your help, refugees will require less and less help and have more and more agency to accomplish their goals on their own. For this reason, it is best to work alongside, rather than perform tasks on behalf of, the people you sponsor.

Create healthy boundaries

From the Refugee Welcome Collective: “Setting boundaries may feel like putting up walls between your group and the client. However, good boundaries build walls to create sturdy foundations for a healthy relationship…Taking on client problems as your own can feel like compassion, but it ultimately removes the power and agency from them.” In creating healthy boundaries, you as the sponsor set the tone for a relationship in which refugee decisions are respected, both parties learn from one another, self-sufficiency is the goal, and you do not become burnt out. See this factsheet for more information on boundary-setting by the Refugee Welcome Collective.

Resettlement takes longer than you think

Certain sponsorship programs require only a 90-day commitment from sponsors to help refugees resettle. If you had to abruptly move to a new country where you did not speak the language, did not know anyone, and where you could not be employed in your trade because of the language barrier, do you think you would be ready to be independent in 90 days? Although the requirements may be short, we find that we typically work with new arrivals for six months to two years before they feel that they no longer need IWR’s assistance. And remember, needed assistance will be high at first, but gradually tapers off throughout the resettlement period.

Respect cultural differences

Some beliefs and values may be shared between you and the refugee(s) you sponsor and some may be different. Unless a law is being broken, it is important to not label certain values as “right” or “wrong,” but to approach each with respect and curiosity. It is also important to not assume that all people from a certain culture, religion, or language group share the same beliefs and values.

Integration does not mean giving up one’s culture

For refugees to rebuild their lives, they need opportunities to become part of their new community. That means they establish new relationships, learn at least some of a new language, learn about customs in their new community, and adhere to new laws, but it also means they should have the agency to continue practicing their own culture, language, and customs, and if desired even share these with their new community.

Be mindful that the people you are sponsoring have likely experienced trauma

Not a clinical term, trauma-informed care refers to interacting appropriately with someone who has experienced trauma while minimizing the possibility of re-traumatizing them. Anyone can practice trauma-informed care; you do not need to be a clinician to do so. It does not mean that you need to handle people as though they are delicate enough to break, but it does mean you should avoid asking probing questions about their traumas unless initiated by them and they want to share. It is good, too, to continually assess their comfort with discussing traumatic experiences.

Provide opportunities for empowerment

Sometimes in resettlement it can feel like the obstacles are too great. But by goal setting and taking incremental steps toward those goals, refugees are capable of big accomplishments. Refugees have strengths and skills which they can apply to a task. Whether it’s personal fortitude to keep overcoming obstacles or a skill that would make them a good candidate for a certain job, encourage refugees you have sponsored to exert their strengths.

Reach out to IWR if you need help or have questions

Ithaca Welcomes Refugees has worked with many sponsors of refugees over the years. Please reach out to us at ithacawelcomesrefugees@gmail.com if you need help navigating a resettlement issue, are interested in sponsorship, or have questions.

For more information about successful sponsorship practices, see the Refugee Welcome Collective’s Community Sponsorship Manual.