Helping Refugees Adjust

Several organizations in Orange County are looking for volunteers to help refugees become accustomed to American ways:

- Catholic Immigration and Resettlement office of the Diocese of Orange, 953-9236. United States Catholic Conference of Bishops volunteers and others work to provide moral support, aid with housing, other material needs, jobs and learning English.

- St. Anselm’s Immigrant and Refugee Community Center, 537-0608. Volunteers are needed to help refugees improve English skills and find jobs. Clerical help is also needed in the office.

- International Rescue Committee, 953-69l2. Through this group, volunteers can “adopt” families to help them get used to the United States. Help is also needed for interpreting, office work, working with children and showing newcomers around.

- World Relief Corp., 530-0930. People willing to give three-month commitments of once-a-week visits to refugees are sought by this group, which is one arm of the National Assn. of Evangelicals. Volunteer help with clerical work is also needed.

- Orange County Health Care Agency, 834-5585. A variety of county agencies can use volunteers. “Friendship role models,” those who speak two or more languages and those willing to accompany public health field nurses on home visits are needed.

- Vietnamese Community of Orange County Inc., 775-2637. Special programs for senior citizens and for teen-agers are sponsored by this organization, which also offers social and vocational services for other age groups of Vietnamese immigrants. People are particularly needed to teach conversational English individually or in small groups to the seniors.

- Cambodian Family Inc., 542-2907. Geared to helping Cambodian refugees find jobs, learn English and get referrals to other agencies and services, this nonprofit program welcomes both American-born and Cambodian-born volunteers.

- Vietnamese Service Center, 539-6530. This 7-year-old volunteer association seeks to establish links between Vietnamese and American-born people, to provide tutors for school-age children and to improve Vietnamese refugees’ English-speaking abilities.