As the world watches a new refugee crisis unfold in the countries surrounding Ukraine, a group of Vashon volunteers is currently focused on welcoming Afghan war refugees now arriving in the Pacific Northwest to their new lives.

The group, called Vashon Afghan Resettlement Team (VART), is composed of members of several island faith communities, including Unitarians, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Quakers and the Havurah.

Julia Lakey, a member of the Vashon’s Church of the Holy Spirit who helped organize VART, said that the generosity of islanders has now outfitted four Afghan families in new homes in south King County. Refugees are not being resettled on Vashon, she said, because Vashon’s remote location makes it too far away from services and resources.

VART is aligned with the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia’s Refugee Resettlement Office, an entity with long experience in the field. The office is now helping approximately 100 Afghan refugees settle in the region on a monthly basis, Lakey said.

The needs of these refugees are great, Lakey said, and include a myriad of household items and supplies — a list that includes kitchen items such as dishes and tea kettles.

Other items needed include lightly used or new blankets, new linens and toiletries, and cleaning supplies such as laundry detergent, garbage bags, new mops, and brooms. The group is also collecting tables, table lamps, throw pillows and larger rugs — a particular necessity since Afghanis typically eat while gathered around a large rug.

Lakey also suggested other ways for islanders to help, including making donations to VART’s account at Island Lumber, or volunteering to become a conversation partner on Zoom with an Afghani person for one hour a week. Orientation and further information on becoming a conversation partner is available by contacting Kit Bean, at kitbean@gmail.com.

For Lakey, who also worked in refugee resettlement when Vietnam fell, helping Afghani refugees now is something she feels called to do, both on a human level and as a person who is deeply concerned about U.S. immigration policy.

“Knowing Afghanis have been traumatized over 20 years of war, I knew I needed to be involved in welcoming and healing steps,” she said, citing a recent Atlantic Magazine article that detailed how immigration has collapsed by about 75 percent since 2017, falling below 250,000 in 2021.

Another volunteer, Ann Lewis, also described the work as fulfilling.

“It feels good to be able to offer concrete and immediate assistance to our newest neighbors,” she said.

To find out more about the VART’s work and specific needs, and become involved in the group’s efforts, email jlakey@centurytel.net.