Afghan refugees arrive in LA, but affordable housing is difficult

In the back reception unit of a house in Santa Monica, a young couple named Ahmed and Wida decompress from their months-long ordeal after leaving Afghanistan in August.

It all started with a crowded US military flight from Kabul, which they managed to board after two days at the crowded airport. Ahmed taught at an American school in Kabul, a job that put him and Wida at risk after the fall of the US-backed Afghan government to the Taliban.

During the flight, they sat on the ground with over 600 other people. Then came a camping trip to a military base in Germany, then another in Virginia. They shared cramped tents with dozens of other refugees.

Finally, at the end of October, they land in Los Angeles, where they have a stroke of luck: their relocation agency placed them with a host family in Santa Monica who had made available their small but well-equipped guest studio.

“We are really grateful that they gave us this space to feel ‘at home’, and also to relax and feel at ease, because I think for the past three months we didn’t have space to… just call it a home, ”Ahmed said. (He and Wida didn’t want their last names used to protect loved ones in Afghanistan.)

Ahmed and Wida are among the growing number of Afghan families who have arrived in Southern California in recent weeks as more refugees are released from military bases. Now a challenge looms: Finding affordable housing for them in one of the most expensive rental markets in the country.

” There’s not enough “

Recently, Lilian Alba of the Los Angeles International Institute, one of the few local resettlement agencies, reviewed her list of families en route to LAX.

“We have about 60 people arriving… it’s probably going to be closer to 80 by the end of the week,” said Alba, the agency’s vice president of immigrant and refugee services. “All these families will go to… hotels, Airbnb and maybe one or two hostels. “

The new arrivals “will spend weeks and weeks in hotels or motels,” she said, “because there just aren’t enough of them.”

In addition to the shortage of affordable units, homeowners who lost money during the pandemic are less willing to try their luck with newcomers who will be looking for work, Alba said.

“Even the units that we find, we are not able to secure them because there is a lack of proof of income, credits, co-signers,” Alba said, adding that resettlement agencies cannot act on it. as co-signers for refugees.

Resettlement groups expect more than 15,000 Afghan refugees in California. Of those, around 4,000 to 5,000 are expected to settle locally, Alba said. So far, the majority have been routed to the Sacramento area, which not only has a large Afghan community, but is cheaper.

As agencies try to place refugees close to any connections they might have with the United States, she said, “the State Department encourages families to consider other locations, by because of the cost of living and the housing crisis we are experiencing locally “.

In an email, a spokesperson for the US State Department wrote: “The availability and affordability of housing in many locations across the country is a key factor and a constraint in the community’s ability to survive. resettle individuals.

Each newcomer receives a one-time payment of approximately $ 1,100. But in Los Angeles, that’s nowhere near enough for a family of four to cover the first and last month’s rent and a security deposit on an average two-bedroom apartment.

Fill gaps

Resettlement groups must act quickly. Refugees only get 90 days of managing resettlement cases, which includes finding accommodation, connecting them with public services, helping them find employment and other forms of assistance.

To fill the gaps as demand grows, local resettlement agencies have partnered with nonprofits, foundations, churches, community groups – anyone who can help raise funds to help with the costs of living. rental or act as a guarantor.

Some groups have intensified: Weingart Foundation recently awarded grants to seven local organizations to help with resettlement efforts.

But demand continues to exceed supply.

Orange County, which has a large Afghan community, has attracted some families. But the housing market there is expensive – a two-bedroom apartment can easily be rented for $ 2,600 a month – and extremely competitive, said Madelynn Hirneise, CEO of Families Forward, an Irvine-based nonprofit that helps people at risk of homelessness.

Hirneise is working with a resettlement agency to house three Afghan families in local hotels. She has a network of landlords who could help, but with waiting lists for rentals, many can’t.

“As much as we have these willing participants and these landlords who are so generous, they have no homes to give,” said Hirneise, whose staff have cold-called landlords, even going so far as to look for vacancies.

“They can stay as long as they want”

Housing stability is essential for people who have experienced trauma, said Jose Serrano, director of outreach and immigration at the Garden Grove office of Global relief.

“The initial period of relocation is just extremely difficult,” Serrano said. “You are trying to find a job, you are trying to get housing. You are also … healing from all the traumatic experiences you have had.

Serrano pointed out that although there was a surge of support from the community, many wanted to donate items such as clothing and furniture. There will be a time for that, he said, but right now the greatest need is housing.

The woman from Santa Monica who volunteered to welcome Ahmed and Wida to her small guest unit is called Susan – she didn’t want to give her last name.

“I told them they can stay as long as they want, as long as they need,” said Susan. “I think it will take a while for them to be able to be self-sufficient.”

Ahmed and Wida are still taking their bearings in LA. They gazed out over the Pacific Ocean and traveled to the city courtesy of Susan, who took on the role of tour guide and cultural interpreter.

“Everything is new,” Ahmed said. “Like when you want to cross the street, you have to press the button.”

“You cannot be a guest before the New Year”

As grateful as they are to Susan and her husband, Ahmed and Wida are eager to have their own accommodation.

“I would like to go to my own apartment and pay my own rent, be independent and find a job,” Ahmed said. “We have a saying in my country: You cannot be invited before New Years. “

He has a pending application for a special immigrant visa, issued to refugees who have worked for the US government, and he and Wida have just received work permits. In addition to Ahmed’s teaching, they both worked in the medical field in Afghanistan, and they hope to find something related here.

And it turns out that Ahmed and Wida are just starting their life together: they’re newlyweds.

“We just got married 15 days before all of this happened in Afghanistan,” Ahmed said, as he and Wida looked at each other and laughed ironically.

While they had hoped to come to the United States in the distant future, they had not planned to start their married life here. But they want to make the most of it.

Speaking in Dari while her husband translated, Wida listed the three things she wants: to find a job, to have children and a home of their own.