Volunteer

We Need Sponsors, Hosts and Committee Members

What can you to do help?

Thank you for considering volunteering with the Northeast Kingdom Asylum Seekers Assistance Network to help asylum seekers find welcome and support in the NEK!  

Please complete this form and we will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

You can help NEKASAN support asylum seekers by becoming a Sponsor, a Host, a Team Member, and/or volunteering to assist with a number of other short-term needs. Whatever amount of time you can offer is greatly appreciated!

Name *

First

Last

Email *

Phone *

Phone (please provide the number you prefer NEKASAN to use to reach you and indicate if the number is your home, work, or mobile phone)

Please select one:

• Home
• Work
• Mobile

Mailing Address

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

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Zip Code

Town of Residence if Different from Mailing Address:

Please tell us a little more about yourself

Please tell us about your work experience/professional background. Please let us know if you are currently employed or retired, and tell us about any experience, knowledge, skills, or licenses/certifications you have that you believe may be helpful to NEKASAN and asylum seekers among us. For example, please let us know if you have experience or training in health care (medicine, nursing, mental health/counseling, dentistry, optometry, etc.); education (K12, vocational, technical, or higher ed); or the legal professions (attorney, paralegal, etc.) Also please indicate if you have experience or an interest in teaching English to speakers of other languages. For example, please let us know if you have experience or training in health care (medicine, nursing, mental health/counseling, dentistry, optometry, etc.); education (K12, vocational, technical, or higher ed); or the legal professions (attorney, paralegal, etc.) Also please indicate if you have experience or an interest in teaching English to speakers of other languages.

Please tell us... Experience

Please tell us about any previous experience you may have working with asylum seekers or other immigrants to the US. And no worries if you are new to this whole thing! NEKASAN will help you learn about the asylum process and answer any questions you may have about our work.

Please tell us... Partner Orgs

What other organizations are you connected with that you think could be a good partner for NEKASAN? Please indicate if you are willing to be a liaison between the named organizations and NEKASAN.

Volunteer Roles

Below are several roles that NEKASAN volunteers can fill. Any amount of time you can offer is wonderful! Please indicate if any of them interest you in particular. Please check or circle your response for any role you are interested in filling. You can refer to the last page of this application for “Definitions of Terms” for the named volunteer roles. If you are not yet sure  whether any of these roles is right for you, please circle the “I‘d like more information about  this” option in each section, and someone will be back in touch to answer any questions you  may have.

1. I am interested in Hosting (See “Definitions of Terms” for more information on Hosting asylum seekers):

• Short Term Host (typically 1-3 months)
• Long Term Host (typically a year, possibly longer)

2. I am interested in Sponsoring (See “Definitions of Terms” for more information on Sponsoring asylum seekers):

• Yes
• No
• I'd like more information about this

3. I would like to:

• Visit with Guests now in St. Johnsbury or other parts of the NEK to help them feel welcome
• Acquaint Guests with U.S. culture by celebrating holidays together and inviting them to sporting events, visits to places of interest, concerts, films, etc.
• Help Guests whose first language is not English to practice speaking
• Drive Guests to appointments (medical, dental, legal, etc.)
• Assist Guests in applying for work once they have obtained their work permit
• Assist Guests to prepare to obtain their Vermont driver's license
• Assist Guests who are parents and have their children with them by helping them enroll their children in school, preschool or day care
• Assist Guests who are parents and have their children with them by babysitting so they can go to appointments, run errands, etc.
• Other (please suggest below any other way you would like to help Guests settle into their new home here in the NEK)

If other...

4. I am Interested in joining the following NEKASAN Team or Teams:

• NEKASAN Board of Directors: The board makes decisions about the mission, vision, and goals of the organization; develops, monitors and approves an annual budget; oversees fundraising and expenditures; seeks out collaborations and partnerships with other entities that share NEKASAN’s vision and/or provides services that Guests may need; and provides guidance and input into the work of NEKASAN’s various teams.
• Material Needs: This team seeks and tracks donations of clothing, furniture, other household items for Guests as needed.
• Transportation: This team recruits and supports volunteers who drive Guests to appointments, take them shopping for food and other necessities, etc., as needed.
• Housing: This team coordinates recruitment, training, and support for Hosts; responds to any concerns that arise with the apartments NEKASAN rents for Guests; and works with the NEKASAN board to raise funds to expand housing options for Guests.
• Medical/Dental/Mental Health: This team recruits and supports volunteers who assist Guests with health issues as they arise.
• Education: This team recruits and supports volunteers who help Guests pursue their educational goals. For parents among NEKASAN’s Guests, this team recruits and supports volunteers who assist Guests in enrolling their children in daycare, K-12 school, preschool, after school, and higher education.
• Legal: This team recruits and supports volunteers who can assist Guests move through the asylum seeking process. Those with training and experience in the legal professions are particularly needed on this team.
• Employment: This team recruits and supports volunteers who can assist Guests who have obtained their work permits to seek and apply for employment.
• Fundraising: This team helps the NEKASAN board research and apply for funding from foundations, government entities and high-net worth individuals to support our work.
• Outreach & Events: This team helps the NEKASAN board mount events to raise awareness in the wider community about the asylum process; introduce Guests to their neighbors; advise decision makers such as City Council members, law enforcement officials, and business leaders about the benefits and challenges of incorporating asylum seekers into the community; and recruit additional volunteers. Wherever possible, these events also aim to raise money for NEKASAN’s work.
• Communications/Website/IT: This team helps the NEKASAN board update and maintain our website and manage our communications with donors, volunteers, partnering organizations, and the wider community.

I am Interested in helping NEKASAN with translation and interpretation. I speak the following languages:

I am interested in being an English conversation partner

• Yes
• No
• I'd like more information about this

What else would you like us to know? Please tell us anything else about you and your interest in volunteering with NEKASAN that the previous questions did not cover.

Background Checks:

NEKASAN is committed to the safety of our volunteers and our guests, especially asylum seekers with children. Therefore, we ask everyone wishing to volunteer to please complete a background check if and when required (particularly for those who may  interact with guests' minor children.) Please let us know if you already have a valid background check (completed within the last five years) or would be willing to complete one.

Background Checks selection

• I have completed a background check within the last five years.
• I am willing to complete a background check as required.

Do you know others who might want to learn more about NEKASAN and perhaps also volunteer? Please reach out to them on NEKASAN’s behalf and let us know if they are okay with you sharing their contact info with us.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN VOLUNTEERING WITH NEKASAN!

Submit Application

Definitions of terms:

Hosting:
Hosts are volunteers who open their homes to asylum seekers. Hosts offer asylum seekers a safe  place in their first days and weeks in the NEK. And it offers a great deal to those who welcome  asylum seekers into their homes as well. Indeed, hosting offers NEKers a unique opportunity to  meet people from different parts of the world, to learn more about other cultures, customs, and languages, and to hear directly from an asylum seeker about the incredibly difficult  conditions that drive people to leave their native lands to seek safety in the US. 

In gratitude for opening their homes to newcomers, NEKASAN provides hosts with a stipend to  help defray the costs of adding another person or persons to their households. Each asylum  seeker’s situation is distinct and so there is no predicting how long any asylum seeker may need  to live with a host. For this reason, NEKASAN is grateful to anyone who will serve as a host for  our guests for however long a period works for the host. We ask anyone hosting a guest to give  the NEKASAN board at least a month’s notice should the need arise to make different living  arrangements for the guest(s) they are hosting. 

NEKASAN holds leases on three apartments in St. Johnsbury. All of them are currently occupied by guests. On occasion, guests living in NEKASAN’s apartments move, leaving the unit vacant.  When this occurs, it is possible that guests living with hosts may be able to move into the open unit.

Sponsor/Sponsorship¹:
Those seeking asylum in the United States are sometimes detained and then interviewed by  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to assess their level of flight risk. Sponsors are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents who are willing to submit paperwork to ICE to secure an asylum seeker’s release and then to receive an asylum seeker in their home upon their release.

ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have specific requirements of sponsors. These include: 1) providing a fixed address where the sponsor can demonstrate they have resided for a significant period of time; 2) the ability to provide asylum seeker with a safe, comfortable place to sleep; and 3) ability/financial means to provide asylum seeker with basic necessities such as food, occasional transportation, items of clothing, etc. Sponsors are also
expected to receive mail on behalf of the asylum-seeker regarding court dates and other legal proceedings.

NEKASAN understands that sponsoring an asylum seeker can seem daunting. That is why we do  our best to spread the above responsibilities among as many volunteers as possible. For  example, the federal government’s expectations that a sponsor provide “a safe, comfortable  place to sleep” and the “means to provide the asylum seeker with basic necessities” can be  shared by Hosts or other volunteers (see below for definition of “Host.”) Each asylum seeker’s  situation is distinct and individual, which means flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing  conditions are key to ensuring a good experience for NEKASAN’s asylum seeker guests and  volunteers alike.

¹Adapted from Asylum Sponsorship Project website