'Today, we're one': Triangle's neighborly spirit lends a hand to Afghan refugees in search of a better life

Churches and nonprofit groups are working feverishly to welcome those families to our community.

Because these Afghans are coming here on Special Immigrant Visas, they can choose where they live. The federal government is working with agencies like the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Raleigh to find homes where they can start their new lives in America.

The USCRI works to move its resettled families into permanent housing within a month and helps them find jobs and become self-sufficient.

An army of volunteers is getting a home in Raleigh ready for a family fleeing Afghanistan. They're trying to turn this house into a home on a moment’s notice.

Mattresses were seen stacked up in the home that volunteers are getting ready for an Afghan family.

People in the Triangle are working feverishly to set up homes for Afghans evacuating their country for helping America over the past 20 years. They’ll be a part of the community here very soon.

Welcome House Raleigh’s founder, Marc Wyatt, is setting up 21 homes across NC with donated furniture and supplies for when refugees arrive. On Wednesday, they set up a home donated by Hayes Barton Baptist Church.

“We don’t think a refugee should come from a place where they feared for their life, get to our country near us, and aren’t welcomed as neighbors,” said Wyatt. "I don’t know what it feels like to a person who’s watched family members die and their house burn down and they’ve been in a war and they’ve gone to an airport and feared for their lives to get on a plane to go somewhere they don’t know."

One family, or 30, could arrive within hours, or weeks. That's the unknown that has volunteers rolling up their sleeves and turning a house into a home.

"Today, we're one," said Wyatt. "We're working together to make this house a home for people who've lost their home."

Meanwhile in Durham, city and county-elected officials are organizing a press conference in front of City Hall for Aug. 30 at 11 a.m. to emphasize that Afghan refugees and all people are welcome in Durham. Members of resettlement agencies from Church World Service and World Relief Durham and refugees connected to those agencies are planning to speak at the press conference.