16 | SEPTEMBER 16 • 2021 

OUR COMMUNITY

A

s chaos and vio-
lence wash over 
Taliban-controlled 
Afghanistan, resettlement 
agencies across the U.S. are 
preparing to support an influx 
of Afghan refugees fleeing the 
country.
Jewish Family Services of 
Washtenaw County, which has 
a robust resettlement program 
in place, is one of the agencies 
getting ready to help. They’re 
now resettling their first Afghan 
refugee since the violence esca-
lated a few weeks back.
JFS also has two additional 
cases in the pipeline for Afghan 
refugees hoping to start new 
lives in Washtenaw County, but 
are preparing to help dozens, if 
not hundreds more, in the com-
ing months.
“These individuals were 
evacuated in early July,
” Shrina 

Eadeh, director of the resettle-
ment program at JFS, explains 
of the two waiting cases. “Right 
now, they’re currently in 
Virginia and Texas doing their 
processing.
”
The first Afghan refugee 
helped by JFS this summer 
had a family member living 
in Washtenaw County. Other 
cases, however, are known as 
“free cases.
” In these particular 
cases, individuals arrive with-
out friends or family in the 
area. Upon receiving a case, 
JFS reviews it and determines 
if their organization will be a 
good host for that individual’s 
unique needs.
Yet JFS is no stranger to 
the Afghan humanitarian cri-
sis. For years, they’ve helped 
Afghan refugees build new 
lives in Ypsilanti and Ann 
Arbor, among other cities in the 

Washtenaw County area. Now, 
though, the need is more press-
ing than ever.
“We really felt the need to 
answer the call,” Eadeh says. 
“We felt that we could help 
individuals who are com-
ing from Afghanistan right 

now have a home here in 
Washtenaw County.
”

SERVICES FOR ALL
While operating as a Jewish 
organization, JFS goes beyond 
assisting only the Jewish 
community. “One of the mis-

Ann Arbor Jewish agency prepares for infl
 ux of Afghan refugees.

Putting Out the Welcome Mat

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The food pantry 
at Jewish Family 
Services of 
Washtenaw County

