COVINGTON, Ky. — Evacuees from Afghanistan will soon call Northern Kentucky their home.

A coalition of partners will welcome the displaced refugees and help integrate them into the bluegrass.

The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce launched Grow NKY a few years ago with one of its main areas of focus being talent attraction and retention. Now, the initiative is ushering in a big influx of potential talent in the coming weeks; people trying to escape tyranny and find a new home.

Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. (Spectrum News 1/Sam Knef)

“We reached out to our welcoming plan task force and said we are going to welcome Afghan evacuees, and Refugee Connect stepped up to coordinate those efforts of resettlement,” said Leisa Mulcahy, vice president of workforce for the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and managing director of Grow NKY. “We have agreed to receive 50 evacuees that include about 15 families total.”

The Northern Kentucky of Chamber of Commerce (NKY Chamber), RefugeeConnect, Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM) and Horizon Community Funds of NKY are partnering in a community effort to provide resources and connections to the Afghan evacuees to ensure Northern Kentucky provides a welcoming home for those who have been relocated. 

Mulcahy said it’s taken a great amount of planning and collaboration from more than 40 community partners to put together the welcoming plan for Afghan evacuees.

She said a data report showed one of the biggest areas of need in integrating refugees into the community was workforce development. So when the evacuees get to Northern Kentucky, the partners involved are going to help them get jobs.

One of those partners, KRM, is reopening a coordination office in Covington. The office is scheduled to open on Nov. 15, but a community-based welcome of recently arrived Afghan evacuees may take place before that date in coordination with the Northern Kentucky partner coalition. Those interested in learning more about the open positions or applying for the jobs can visit kyrm.org/careers/. 

Horizon Community Funds is accepting donations for its Afghan Evacuees Fund. The Horizon Community Funds’ NKY Afghan Evacuees Community Fund will support nonprofits and charitable organizations that are directly involved with supporting the Afghan relocation efforts.

RefugeeConnect will coordinate the welcoming efforts in the region. RefugeeConnect’s mission is to connect refugees, people forced to flee their country to escape persecution or war, with resources to rebuild their lives as United States citizens.

“I think that we have a responsibility to this population of people, and we are looking forward to receiving them and providing them the support that they need,” Mulcahy said. “I think it’s clear we have systems in place to support their resettlement, and I also think it’s clear that we are ripe for opportunity. So we are ready to get them engaged in the workforce, and embedded in our community.”

Mulcahy said housing is a key component of this initiative. Several partners have stepped up to assist in temporary housing for the evacuees, but there is still a need for permanent housing. So they encourage anyone with available housing to let them know.