Lutheran Social Service Plans to Resettle Same Amount of Refugees in St. Cloud This Year

ST. CLOUD - Minnesota is expecting to get more refugees in 2016 than it has in any year in the past decade.

However, Lutheran Social Service says they will resettle the same amount in St. Cloud in 2016 compared to last year.

Jaqueline Nelson, the senior marketing and communications manager with Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota says they will settle 215 new refugee arrivals in St. Cloud for 2016, the same as in 2015.

Nelson says the Twin Cities will see a 10 percent increase in the refugees they settle. Lutheran Social Service will resettle 430 in the area, up from 390 last year.

According to an article from the Associated Press last month, Minnesota is gearing up for more refugees with the federal government aiming to admit 15,000 more in 2016 on top of the 70,000 typically accepted due to the Obama administration committing to aid Syrian refugees.

Refugees are coming from countries they already serve, including Myanmar, Somalia, Ethiopia and Iraq. Bob Oehrig, executive director of resettlement group Arrive Ministries, says it's unlikely many Syrians will come to Minnesota because the state doesn't have an establised Syrian community.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton he previously said he wont object to the possible placement of Syrian refugees in his state as long as they undergo rigorous screening first.

Nelson says they've received many inquiries in recent months from people who want to help refugees. If anyone wishes to help, they can call their St. Cloud office at 651-251-7700

According to their website: LSS Refugee Services provides various types of assistance to refugees upon their arrival in Minnesota. During the first 90 days after a refugee arrives in the United States, LSS Refugee Services offers services to help refugees adapt to their new home. Services include finding housing, setting up health insurance, and enrolling in English as a Second Language courses.

A refugee is any person, living outside of his or her home country, who is unable to return to his or her home country due to a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

-This article was written with information from the Associated Press-