(Photo/Ben Domaingue)
NORTHBOROUGH – A team of community members are getting ready to welcome a family of Afghan refugees to Northborough.
In the meantime, they’re asking for additional help.
Group seeks help finding housing
Neighborhood Support Team (or NST) Northborough is looking for assistance in finding a house or apartment that could be rented at an affordable price. Options also include an empty finished basement, in-law apartment or parsonage in the area.
The family that NST is helping is made up of a mother and six-year-old child.
There’s been an ongoing effort to resettle individuals who have fled their homes after the Taliban took power in Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal from the country.
Welcome NST and Ascentria Care Alliance, in turn, have partnered to help meet the need of many evacuees resettling in New England.
According to Welcome NST’s website, their model is built around what is called a Neighborhood Support Team, which is made up of volunteers that welcome a family like this into their community.
Group forms following outreach from church
After the fall of the Afghan capital, Kabul, people in the United States and around the world watched as people tried to flee Afghanistan.
Locally, residents looked for ways to help, including the outreach team at Northborough’s Trinity Church.
They know they couldn’t do it alone. So, the parishioners reached out to members of other churches and organizations in Northborough.
The response, NST Northborough Co-Chair John Posluszny said, was overwhelming.
They ultimately formed NST Northboro, which is made up of 25 people.
“As people of faith, Christians, the Islamic faith — so many people that are in communities of faith, they want to put it into practice,” Posluszny said. “They want to help their fellow man. They want to do something to make a difference. It’s something that we want to do.”
Having seen images from the evacuation and being aware of the suffering and trauma, Posluszny said it’s been easy to get Northborough residents involved in the cause.
“That’s what I love about it,” said Co-Chair Mary Robbins. “It doesn’t take anything away from anybody else. It just adds.”
Anyone with information regarding housing can reach NST Northborough at [email protected].
People can also provide financial donations to cover food, rent and monthly expenses at https://bit.ly/Northboro-NST. Checks can also be mailed to Trinity Church at 23 Main Street, Northborough MA 01532 with “Afghan Refugee support” noted.
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