As the crisis in Afghanistan unfolded and we began to realize the unprecedented need, a regional mattress company stepped up and offered a bed for every guest of Welcome House.

Sweet Dreams Mattresses and More in Southern Pines offered to supply us with as many mattresses as we needed. Anyone who volunteers at Welcome House knows that each and every guest arrives at our doorstep exhausted. They are weary not only from international travel but from the trauma that fleeing your homeland inflicts. This incredible partnership provides a place of rest in our Welcome Houses and outfits the new homes of our guests when they move to permanent housing.

Learning English is critical for our guests. Most people in North Carolina do not speak Pashtun, Farsi, Burmese, Lingála or Ukrainian. Peach Road Park Community Center in Raleigh offered classroom space for one of our weekly ESL classes. Students can easily walk or ride a bus to this location, and it is a public space which allows for larger classes than an apartment home would.

Being at the Community Center also allows us to connect with other resources. Refugee Hope Partners offers child enrichment activities for the kids so that the moms can focus on learning. Students took part in a yoga class recently. It was an opportunity to learn the English words: up, down, left, right, hands, feet, etc. and a way to care for the health of our students. Soon we will also be incorporating a cooking class focusing on healthy foods. We are so excited about all the possibilities this partnership offers.