Serving Unaccompanied Children from Afghanistan

After living with decades of conflict, children and families from Afghanistan are arriving at our airports to find safety. In the last two weeks, the Young Center has received multiple referrals to serve Afghan children who have arrived without a parent or legal guardian and have been placed in federal custody as unaccompanied immigrant children.

We are recruiting volunteer Child Advocates who speak Persian (Farsi/Dari), Pashtu, or Uzbeki and who can commit to weekly, online meetings with children. Advocates must be at least 21 years old and agree to a FBI background check, a child abuse and neglect (CAN) background check, and a medical screening for tuberculosis (for volunteers willing and able to meet children in-person).

Volunteers who meet these criteria, successfully complete our training, and who are appointed to individual cases will accompany and support an individual child while they are in detention and subjected to immigration court proceedings. Please contact volunteer@theyoungcenter.org or fill our interest form here if you meet these requirements.

You can also help by sharing our call for volunteers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.