A Reader Wants to Help Refugees

She writes:

I’ve been following the news about the refugee crisis, and have been really disheartened by the amount of fear and hate I’ve been seeing from so many Christians towards them since the attack on Paris. Even some of my pro-life friends in college, who are a lot better people than me and who I know really love Christ, are falling into it. It’s causing me a lot of distress. I can’t even go on to Facebook anymore because I just end up sick when I see another post about stopping the refugees.

I want to do something to help fight all the darkness I’m seeing, but I don’t know how. So I thought I’d ask if maybe you or your readers know of some charities or organizations that are doing something to help the refugees that I can volunteer with? I don’t have much money to give (college…you know) but I do have time.

I’m just tired of doing nothing. I keep coming back to Jesus’ words in Matthew 25 and I’m afraid right now I’m with the goats, not the sheep. I don’t want to stay that way.

Anyways, do you have any suggestions or advice for how a college student like me can help out?

I think the best starting place is to follow the pope’s recommendation that each parish take in one family. At my parish, Blessed Sacrament in Seattle, the Knights of Columbus are going to approach the parish leadership and see what we as a parish can do to help a family find housing and get integrated in to the local community. I don’t see why any other parish can’t do the same. I’d start there.