The last refugee to be received by the Refugee Resettlement & Reunification Programs has been welcomed to the Phoenix area in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the nonprofit program scrambling.

The program was surprised to learn that the man was coming in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. He will likely be the last refugee to come to Phoenix for some time. 

The resettlement program did not release details of where he came from. Previous refugees have come from Iraq, Burma, the Sudan and Congo. All refugees accepted in the program are granted refugee status by the United Nations and are cleared by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Refugees leave their homes and families in the wake of war or persecution. Many have been in refugee camps for as long as 10 years. 

Kitty Marquez | Facebook

Kitty Marquez, program supervisor, said the organization got word of the man’s arrival at the last minute, when his plane was in the air. 

“We had a moment of panic. How would we find food, toiletries and other supplies for this man?”  Marquez told the Catholic Community Services newsletter. 

“We haven’t been able to find regular supplies for our families,” Marquez told Catholic Community Services. One Catholic Charities team member visited all the local ethnic stores and finally found some rice.

Shopping for refugees entering the United States is part of Marquez’s team’s regular work. They purchase hygiene products, food and other things the people need to get settled. The coronavirus pandemic has made shopping really hard. Diapers and hygiene products have been particularly hard to find. 

“Thankfully we have donations from students’ Miracle Projects. And local churches have specifically donated hygiene products for refugee families,” Marquez told Catholic Community Services. “We are carefully rationing products for the families who are most in need.”

Because of Covid 19, Catholic Charities has suspended volunteer opportunities to prevent the spread of the virus.

“When the volunteers stopped coming in, the donations stopped coming in too,” Marquez said to Catholic Community Charities. Team members have stopped visiting refugees in person to a great extent to follow shelter in place protocols, she said. However, she said some refugees need support and her team is doing its best. 

“When we have to, we will provide for them from our own pantries. We won’t let them go without,” Marquez told Catholic Community Charities.