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Dozens of Traumatized Afghan Kids Struggle Inside a Shelter That's Ill-Equipped to Care for Them
https://www.propublica.org/article/dozens-of-traumatized-afghan-kids-struggle-inside-a-shelter-thats-ill-equipped-to-care-for-themAs of Wednesday, 41 of the 55 children and teens at that shelter were from Afghanistan, records show. Of those, 25 had been at the facility for at least 50 days, while 15 had been there for at least 60 days. ProPublica reported in 2018 on how prolonged stays in Heartland’s shelters led to despair, confusion and suicidal ideation among children.
No organization in the country is sheltering more Afghan children than Heartland at the moment. A total of 186 Afghan youth were in the government’s care as of Friday. (Federal officials did not respond to requests for updated figures this week.)
The children are among the tens of thousands of Afghans brought to the U.S. after America’s widely criticized military pullout from the country following two decades of war. In the chaos, many children were separated from parents or adult relatives at Taliban checkpoints and airports, or later at U.S. military bases in other countries. Many wound up on planes alone, according to workers and advocates who have spoken to the children.
And unlike many of the Central American children who typically pass through the shelter system with a plan and a destination in mind — and the knowledge from relatives’ experiences to prepare them — these young Afghans had no idea what to expect when they arrived. Some have no relatives or family friends here to take them in. Many didn’t even want to come here and are worried about their families back home, the workers and advocates said.
(snip)
Workers at the Bronzeville shelter said they understand that factors beyond Heartland’s control are largely to blame for the problems. But they say they are disappointed in the response so far from both Heartland and the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is responsible for the shelter system.
No organization in the country is sheltering more Afghan children than Heartland at the moment. A total of 186 Afghan youth were in the government’s care as of Friday. (Federal officials did not respond to requests for updated figures this week.)
The children are among the tens of thousands of Afghans brought to the U.S. after America’s widely criticized military pullout from the country following two decades of war. In the chaos, many children were separated from parents or adult relatives at Taliban checkpoints and airports, or later at U.S. military bases in other countries. Many wound up on planes alone, according to workers and advocates who have spoken to the children.
And unlike many of the Central American children who typically pass through the shelter system with a plan and a destination in mind — and the knowledge from relatives’ experiences to prepare them — these young Afghans had no idea what to expect when they arrived. Some have no relatives or family friends here to take them in. Many didn’t even want to come here and are worried about their families back home, the workers and advocates said.
(snip)
Workers at the Bronzeville shelter said they understand that factors beyond Heartland’s control are largely to blame for the problems. But they say they are disappointed in the response so far from both Heartland and the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is responsible for the shelter system.
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