Abbott Brant

Poughkeepsie Journal

The Church World Service Network expects to settle 80 refugees in the City of Poughkeepsie in the next fiscal year.

Area officials, however, including City Mayor Rob Rolison, do not have details on how the settlements will work, and the Dutchess County Executive's Office says it did not have a hand in approving the plan.

The Church World Service Network, or CWS, is set to open a resettlement office in the City of Poughkeepsie, according to Christina Levin, director for external relations at CWS.

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The organization is one of nine refugee resettlement agencies with which the federal government contracts to bring refugees from other counties to the U.S., Levin said. The CWS works to offer arriving refugees assistance with case management, housing, cultural orientation, health access assistance and job placement.

The Poughkeepsie office, which would serve refugees from all countries, was approved by the state Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. The exact location of the office to still to be determined.

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CWS' presence in Poughkeepsie has ignited debate among the candidates for the 18th Congressional District seat in next week's election, as well as area residents. At least one group of local organizations has banded together to support the resettlement efforts.

Levin said the CWS has been “working with a number of local partners, including the City of Poughkeepsie” in establishing the office.

“Poughkeepsie has shown us an overwhelmingly positive and welcoming response, reflecting our nation’s longstanding values of hospitality," an official statement from the organization read. "CWS stands encouraged by the widespread community support we’ve received about the opening of our new refugee resettlement office in Poughkeepsie. We look forward to continuing to work with all of our local partners as we prepare to welcome refugees to Dutchess County and help them build their lives anew here in the U.S.”

But, Rolison said Wednesday he is still seeking answers regarding how the plan will work.

"We learned recently that they were considering Poughkeepsie for this, and now that is has been announced they're going to establish one in the greater Poughkeepsie area, I've reached out and left a message (with CWS) about it. We’re trying to learn more details. At this point, I don’t have any," Rolison said.

Dutchess County’s Department of Community and Family Services and Department of Behavioral and Community Health both discussed CWS and raised questions about it in the spring, according to Colleen Pillus, communications director for Dutchess County.

"But it then went to the State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, which approved it. Dutchess was not involved with the approval process after the spring questioning," Pillus said.

Things considered when determining a successful resettlement location include the availability of affordable housing, transportation, and access to schools and medical services, Levin said.

The resettlement office in Poughkeepsie will be one of nine offices CWS has around the country, in addition to the organization's 25 affiliate offices, Levin said. CWS currently resettles refugees in three other locations in New York, including Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse.

Staff from CWS’ New York headquarters will hold a public information session at the Adriance Memorial Library in Poughkeepsie from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Nov. 10.

The Mid-Hudson Refugee Solidarity Alliance, composed of local organizations and college-based groups, encouraged the resettlement in Poughkeepsie, according to Maria Höhn, history professor at Vassar College and co-founder of the alliance.

As faculty advisor for the student initiative Vassar Refugee Solidarity, Höhn said she wanted to educate her students “about the crisis” facing many refugees, and said the students wanted to be a part of refugee work.

The alliance reached out to CWS to suggest Poughkeepsie as a resettlement location, Höhn said, and CWS had already been looking to create a site in the Hudson Valley.

Other organizations and institutions involved in the alliance include Vassar College, Dutchess County Community College, SUNY New Paltz, Bard College, Vassar Temple, Christ Episcopal Church, Masjid al-Noor Mosque, Arlington Refugee Project and Dutchess County Interfaith Council.

“Working with our students and local congregations, we are committing ourselves to the local community to work with these refugees,” Höhn said.

The Mid-Hudson Refugee Solidarity Alliance will hold a public community meeting at the Vassar College Student Building on Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. to inform potential volunteers how they can help.

The alliance is not just “raising money and giving them stuff,” Höhn said, but rather helping them find homes, learn English, get jobs and integrate into the community.

Phil Oliva, the Republican challenger for the 18th Congressional District seat, questioned CWS' plan and cast blame at the incumbent Sean Patrick Maloney, D-Cold Spring, for a lack of public information on the resettlements.

"I think I speak for a lot of people. We are not mad at the Syrian refugees. We are mad at our federal government and our local representative, Sean Patrick Maloney, for not telling local officials there was a resettlement office in the City of Poughkeepsie," Oliva said, listing a number of safety concerns.

Maloney said Oliva is "exploiting" those who will be relocating to Dutchess County.

"Instead of engaging in Phil's fear mongering tactics, we should deal in facts," Maloney said. "We all agree that we must make sure these folks aren't dangerous — that's why I supported a proposal to ensure they are fully vetted. The program in Poughkeepsie is run by a humanitarian organization of christian groups helping refugees assimilate after waiting years going through a stringent vetting process, and Phil exploiting these victims of war and the Christian charities helping them for political gain is just wrong."

"Wanting answers to basic questions isn’t fear mongering," Oliva said, "it’s out of an abundance of caution as directed by our FBI and our national intelligence agency."

Abbott Brant: abrant@poughkeepiejournal; 845-437-4809; Twitter: @AbbottBrantPoJo