About RAASS

Randolph Area Asylum Seekers Support (RAASS), a group of approximately 12 White River Valley residents, aims to provide a safe haven for an individual or family seeking asylum in the United States.

Asylum seekers are people who have left their homeland due to concern for their safety and the possibility of violence directed against them or their family. Asylum seekers are legally allowed to be in the U.S. Most often, asylum seekers come to the U.S. from Central and South America. If asylum seekers reach the U.S., they are held in prison-like detention centers waiting for their request for asylum to be heard by an immigration court. This process can take up to two years.

Asylum seekers can be released from the detention center system if they have a place in the U.S. that will take them in. RAASS seeks to bring a family or individual out of a detention center by providing them a host home in the Randolph area. While RAASS cannot bring anyone to the Randolph area while COVID-19 makes it unsafe to do so, we want to utilize this time in raising the money necessary to support a family. Our goal is $10,000.

Sponsoring a family will involve providing a living space and services such as transportation, shopping, and teaching English as a second language. Financial support will also be necessary to assist with possible legal and medical expenses, as well as trips to the immigration court in Boston. Asylum seekers cannot legally seek employment until they have received a temporary work visa, which can take up to a year.

RAASS is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit and can accept tax-exempt donations.

Please consider how you might be able to support this humanitarian effort financially and through the sharing of your time and talents. To learn how you might become involved and to mail donations please learn more here.