This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Hundreds of refugees have been settled in Salem in recent years even as the subject of immigration in general has been controversial nationally.

The main proponent of the controversy was the rogue president, Donald Trump, who made immigrants the enemy and influenced many citizens to believe the same.

But, if you get past the negative political rhetoric, you can see real lives of people who are seeking a better life, often from terrible circumstances.  

At the moment, look no farther than Haiti where a 7.2 earthquake caused unbelievable devastation and death.  The death count has soared to about 1,400 as rescuers race to find survivors amid the rubble ahead of a potential deluge from an approaching tropical storm.

The earthquake also left at least 2,800 people injured in the Caribbean nation, with thousands more displaced from their destroyed or damaged homes.  Survivors in some areas were forced to shelter in streets or soccer fields with their few salvaged belongings while overloaded hospitals scrambled to help those who were injured.

Just think of the children who are on their own without families!

But, those statistics, overwhelming as they may be, are difficult to grasp.

So, I turn to Salem where I live and where I laud the Salem Refugee Program started by Salem Alliance Church where my wife and have attended for more than 30 years.  My daughter-in-law asked about the program other night; we were glad to provide information then.

And I am glad to repeat that information here.

It may not be well-known, but refugee re-settlement has been taking place in the State of Oregon for decades.  For the past 30 years, refugees who were forced to flee their homelands, and were chosen for resettlement in Oregon, were initially re-settled in the Portland metro area.

Due to the rising costs of housing in Portland, agencies began to expand resettlement to Salem at the end of 2015.

There was an overwhelming response of support and volunteer effort throughout the city.

In October 2016, Salem Leadership Foundation hosted a series of lunch meetings called “Welcoming Our New Neighbors.”  The purpose of these meetings was to bring together the various groups and organizations that were seeking to care for refugees and explore how the efforts could be coordinated.

At the end of these meetings, “Salem For Refugees “was formed to continue the collaboration in caring for new neighbors.  Now, organization is a growing network of community members, businesses, government organizations, non-profits, re-settlement agencies, and faith communities committed to empowering refugees to thrive in Salem.

To my wife’s credit, she has organized donations for us to make to the effort, including bedding, furniture, food and other stuff.  It has been a pleasure to organize and make the donations.

When refugee families are due to arrive in Oregon, often by plane, after long hours in the air, a representative of Salem for Refugees meets the family, provides some food and clothing immediately, then drives the family to Salem where they are put up in apartments prepared expressly for the purpose.

Then, a host family from Salem is introduced to the refugees to help them get settled.

Of course, that starts a longer process to help the family adjust to life in their new home and that, in an of itself, is a huge task.  One of the issues is the language barrier.  Another is employment.

On the latter, Sparrow Furniture, another Salem Alliance Church program, provides  some refugees with the opportunity for a paid apprenticeship and language classes in a custom-woodworking business where the result – new furniture – often goes to the refugees.

It’s not all sweetness and light, but the reality is this:  There is a huge benefit for many citizens in Salem, including my family, if we help with refugee re-settlement as one way to see refugees as what they are – real people.