Advocacy
GERA advocates for the rights of refugees and those affected by conflicts at a world stage.GERA is affiliated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications. Such affiliation gives GERA a unique opportunity to advocate for the rights of refugees and those affected by conflicts at a world stage. GERA has participated in meetings and conferences, served as panelist at the United Nations, and attended civil society briefings. GERA has also worked with UNICEF to plan and implement events such as UNICEF’s Refugees Welcome Campaign, which benefited refugee families in many aspects. In 2017 and 2019, one of the child participants in our NJRebuild’s program was invited to speak at the UN in celebration of World Children’s Day in front of world leaders.
In 2019 GERA was honored by the government of Passaic County for our work in helping refugee families establish economic independence. Working with the Passaic County government and other partners helped us push elected government leaders to pass policies, programs and legislation that ensure the human dignity of refugees. This includes ensuring the government of Passaic County successfully recognized and declared June 20th as World Refugee Day.
Support for Ukrainian Refugees
GERA is part of the US Government and Welcome USA Be a Welcomer: Ukraine Initiative and Coalition to welcome Ukrainian refugees to the USA. We regularly meet with the be a Welcomer: Ukraine Initiative and follow developments surrounding welcoming Ukrainian refugees to the USA and more specifically the State of New Jersey. We are also working with Welcome USA, a national initiative built to inspire, mobilize, and empower Americans from all corners of the country to welcome and support those seeking refuge.
Afghan Humanitarian Assistance
GERA supported the initial stages of resettlement; raising funds and hosting donation drives to meet immediate needs, providing basic sanitation and healthcare items, as well as assisting the needs of the refugees upon arrivals. In 2021, GERA in partnership with other local organizations, delivered 40 trucks full of donations to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst with donations valued over $500,000 worth of donations in men,women and children’s clothings,sanitary items, baby formula, baby food, and wipes. GERA is also one of the 26 organizations that make up the Afghan coalition, a group of NGOs and organizations that together advocate for and with Afghan refugees.GERA is also working to facilitate Afghan refugee families’ long-term integration into local N.J. communities and institutions.
As of March 2022, GERA has resettled 17 Afghan families in New Jersey with around over 6-13 members per family, while also assisting and providing wrap-around services to 100 Afghan individuals.Several heads of households of the families have been employed and have jobs in construction, insurance translating services. In addition, GERA has assisted families in applying for benefits – including SNAP, TANF, NJ Family Care, Charity Care, Medical appointments and has successfully enrolled 25 Afghan children in schools.GERA continues to serve the Afghan refugee community by working with partners on the ground to ensure a dignified resettlement and a holistic approach that leads to long term-integration.
NJReBuild
NJReBuild is a comprehensive program that provides direct assistance, offers ESL and educational programs, fosters community ties, and advocates for refugee rights. NJReBuild recasts resettlement as an active, ongoing partnership with refugee families, rather than as short term, one-way service delivery.GERA’s NJReBuild program works to address refugee families’ short term needs but looks beyond immediate needs and facilitates an active integration into local communities and institutions.
The program was first launched in 2017 to support Syrian refugees. A total of 100 adults and 50 children participated in the ESL program where they acquired the ability to use English to meet social, academic, and vocational demands with confidence. GERA also worked directly with over 30 families, and integrated many more in community-building activities. The program has three main components: ESL, Community Assistance, and Children and Youth Enrichment. All three components are described in detail below.
ESL Component: NJReBuild’s ESL component delivers a stimulating, hands-on program to refugee families.The program was designed to build language confidence for routine interactions, workplace readiness, and practice in navigating transportation and public services. The objective is to expedite the refugee integration process by providing English language instruction and practice in a culturally appropriate setting where family members can learn together. The program stands out as it is a customized English language program specifically designed for Pashto, Arabic and Dari speakers whereas most ESL in the USA are designed for Spanish speakers.
Community Development Component: GERA facilitates exchange between refugees and interfaith communities to develop social and professional networks. Additionally, through advocacy with local government and media, Gera raises awareness of new refugee families in the area, and builds connections between families, local residents, and community leaders.
Children and Youth Enrichment Component: The Enrichment program for children and Youth offered tutoring, homework help, outdoor games, and arts, sports and theater activities. It provides refugee children and youth access to psychological and mental health services ,indoor and outdoor games,arts and theater activities, and learning enrichment programs such as tutoring and homework help, that support their development.Activities are designed to provide youth with a structured and safe environment where caring staff will interact with the students in a group setting.
The components of NJRebuild provide a sound foundation to obtain the tools and knowledge refugee families will need to thrive in society as they rebuild their lives. NJRebuild seeks to integrate refugees as thriving members of society through a holistic and direct human security approach by ensuring a dignified resettlement process
Housing Assistance
GERA’s Housing Assistance program pays for the rental deposit and the first three months of rent for refugee households. To date, GERA has secured permanent housing for over 20 families. After leaving everything they know behind and attempting to rebuild a new life in a different country, having somewhere to feel safe, comfortable, and call home is the number one priority for refugees. Every human deserves dignified housing; a safe, affordable, clean, private, and comfortable house or apartment that they can make their own. The most prominent financial hurdle refugee families face when resettling in America is the cost of housing. Further, completing other tasks like obtaining jobs, enrolling in school, and acclimating to new communities is very difficult without a permanent address. Finding a safe, affordable home is a daunting task for newly arrived refugees. Many do not know where to look or who to trust. Our team at GERA has both the experience and the community connections to ensure our families can find adequate housing. Moreover, GERA also assists families in applying for benefits – including SNAP, TANF, NJ Family Care, Charity Care, set up medical appointments, enroll children in local schools, and help adults apply for jobs in their communities. GERA has worked with landlords and apartment complexes throughout Northern NJ, and we know the locations that will be safe for our families and set them up for success in the future. Families who work with GERA can rely on our staff to meet their needs, treat them like family, and ensure they have a home after their first 90 days in the US.
International Missions
GERA also collaborates in international projects. Amongst our work we have supported organizations in Costa Rica that work with Nicaraguan refugees.In addition, we supported a project in Ivory Coast to provide school supplies and uniforms to over 200 children. cover their medical consultation fees and provide funds for their daily meals. In partnership with our sister organization HOPE for Children In Africa, we were able to cover ophthalmologist visits for several children. GERA also conducted missions in 2015 to Kilis Oncupinar Accommodation Facility in Turkey to provide emergency assistance and relief to thousands of newly arrived refugee families from Syria. Kilis is one of six camps in Turkey, near the Syria border. We first conducted a needs assessment in collaboration with partner organizations and refugee leaders to assess and prioritize needs, and in conjunction with Embrace Relief, provided 50 families with winter clothing and blankets, and 4,000 families with food supplies
Past Programs
Syrian Humanitarian Assistance
From 2016-2019 GERA provided educational, housing, and medical assistance to over 30 Syrian families (nearly 150 individuals) living in Northern New Jersey.
During this time, GERA ensured every family had a bed and roof to sleep under, assisted them in finding appropriate housing and medical services while also providing immediate relief assistance. Amongst our accomplishments GERA prevented 11 families from being evicted, connected 30 adults with employment opportunities, settled over 40 families in school districts that offer ESL for speakers of Arabic and connected over 50 adults and children with counseling and medical services. Overall GERA achieved the following:
* Supported refugee families with educational supplies, winter clothing, household necessities, rental assistance and other basic necessities.
* Supported the development of social and professional networks with interfaith groups to help refugees integrate into their communities.
* Focused media and advocacy groups on the experiences and needs of refugee families in New Jersey to dispel stereotypes, build support, and attract resources to their cause.