Religious groups in western Travis County help Afghan refugees settle in Austin area

Ann Finch said that when she saw news stories about what was happening in Afghanistan after U.S. troops pulled out in August, she knew she wanted to do something to help. She started calling around her church, the Westlake United Methodist Church, to see if anyone else wanted to join her in assisting Afghan refugees headed to the Austin area. 

“We are a small church so it became a pretty apparent that I couldn’t do on my own,” she said. “People just started contacting me and saying how can I help?”

Finch quickly organized a number of other churches to help set up apartments for arriving families. Finch and her crew, which she described as a “very small group, but very dedicated,” work with Refugee Services of Texas to sign up for apartments to fully furnish ahead of each family’s arrival. 

“We go into a vacant apartment and we completely furnish it, including kitchen items, the linens, the toothbrushes and toothpaste, and the refrigerator, the pantry,” she said. “We take the vacant apartment and try to make it a home.” 

Finch was not alone in her effort to donate time, money and supplies to families arriving in Austin from Afghanistan. Austin has welcomed about 240 Afghan refugees between August and Dec. 1 after Afghanistan’s government collapsed amid the withdrawal of American troops. The Taliban took control of Kabul, Afghanistan's capital city, which led to a crush of civilians at the city's airport in a desperate bid to leave the country. Many religious organizations and interfaith groups rallied to provide furniture, food, and funds to new arrivals, including groups in Westlake and the Lake Travis area.

Finch said she was drawn to this cause because of the children who are coming over as part of the resettlement efforts. When she helps with apartment setups for families with kids, she said the group makes sure to include toys and stuffed animals on the beds. 

“I just know that there are many, many children who are kind of stuck in the middle of this, and as a grandmother, that is very heartbreaking to me,” she said. 

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Finch has partnered with members of the Barton Creek branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as part of this effort. Mark Payne and Reece Coberly, both Mormon missionaries stationed in the area, said they have been helping with tasks including moving furniture and setting up rooms. 

Joe Straubhaar, a congregant at the Barton Creek branch, said volunteering to help with refugee resettlement is part of an effort to do more service in the local community. Coberly said that service to other people is a key part of how he practices religion.

“I've always found service to be very satisfying,” he said. “Being able to help those less fortunate, people who are coming into a new country, and they don't really have lots of things. (I want to) help them and provide some stability to very unstable lives. It's me giving back to them what God has given me.”

Another one of the churches Finch partnered with is Westlake Hills Presbyterian. Patty Praytor, who is on the mission team there, said her church decided to focus primarily on one family of 13. They set up the living quarters, helped the children enroll in school, and are offering language lessons and job search assistance to the father, she said. 

“This family, their lives are changed forever,” she said. “This is a pivotal moment, how they're treated here. How they are educated here. ... The kids are so eager, they're so eager to learn, the kids are fabulous. And if you give them a soccer ball there's no cultural differences.”

For other religious institutions, helping out with refugee resettlement happens through other channels. Austin Stone Community Church, which has six sites around Austin including one in Westlake, has a longstanding relationship with Refugee Services of Texas because the organization rents space from the church in Austin. Local Mission Director Steve Teng said the church does everything from educating the public to raising funds to gathering supplies. 

Bobby Murphy, who also assists with Austin Stone’s refugee efforts, said faith is a huge driving factor in his work. 

“As a Christian, it's important to me because we are all made in the image of God and anytime we see the image of God being mistreated and marginalized and desecrated and profaned, we should care no matter who it is and where they are,” Murphy said. “I think it's every human's responsibility to seek to be that good Samaritan that Jesus talked about.”  

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The Islamic Center of Lake Travis is also involved in resettlement efforts, often in an interfaith capacity working with other religious groups, according to Board Member Shakeel Rashed. Rashed said the center assists area organizations, including Muslim Community Support Services, and that the Afghani community within the center’s membership help with hosting and other forms of assistance. 

For those who want to get involved in resettlement, Murphy said there are lots of ways to help, including volunteering directly through Refugee Services of Texas or reaching out to Austin Stone or other religious groups to donate funds, household items or gift cards. 

Finch said anyone is welcome to reach out to her at carrieannfinch@hotmail.com to participate in apartment setups, and there is no need for people to be members of churches or other religious groups. 

Chris Kelley, a spokesperson for Refugee Services of Texas. said that in this federal fiscal year, which ends next September, the organization projects it will resettle 1,020 refugees in the Austin area. 

“The amazing volunteers who work in partnership with the professional staff at RST made this intense resettlement effort possible by setting up modest apartments for refugee families, picking them up at the airport, and helping them settle into their new lives,” he said in an email. “RST could not do what it does without volunteers.”

Sidney Josephs, a student at Westlake High School, contributed reporting to this story.