BOISE, Idaho — Usually, in the hours and days after of a damaging storm, news crews head out to cover the consequences. Much like last week with the downed trees, the closed roads, the stalled cars and the flooding. However, there was one local organization that didn't get a lot of attention in the aftermath, perhaps because they don't get a lot of attention anyway.
Artisans For Hope began nearly a decade ago, with a goal of helping incoming refugees get a skill set so they can learn the language, get a job, find a place to live and ultimately make their way in their new community.
After the storm on Tuesday evening last week, Executive Director Ellie McKinnon said that she hadn't thought much of the storms, until she came into work. The nonprofit is located in the basement of a building.
"So, the water probably came down and over, it was not a welcoming sight," McKinnon said. "You can see how high the water was, this much water this is the force behind it. This door was on the floor in the studio and muck and mud was just about everywhere."
The flooding even took the door off its hinges.
Refugees come to Boise from all over. According to the Idaho Office for Refugees, Idaho started bringing more refugees to the state in 1975. Idaho has approved 865 refugees to be resettled in the state this year.
However, they only get about eight months of assistance to do all those things and then they are on their own. That's where Artisans For Hope comes in. Volunteers teach them a skill like sewing, using donated materials and equipment, and then they sell what they make...getting most of the money for themselves.
Most of them come to this country having been something of substance back home, a doctor, a nurse, a mechanic, a teacher. But they can't just walk into those jobs here. So, they have to start from scratch, starting several steps back, and what happened last week to the nonprofit's classroom and gift shop, trips up this refugee transition a bit more.
McKinnon said they have a plan to get back to making stuff soon but adding to the misfortune, Artisans For Hope did not have flood insurance and neither did their landlord.
As for when they might be able to get back in their studio, classroom and gift shop, that depends a lot on the damage and the ability to pay for it.
McKinnon said they still aren't sure the extent of it, like how many sewing machine pedals which were on the floor and if they work or not. However, she did say she knows for sure that Artisans For Hope will very much be a part of Boise's World Refugee Day this Saturday at the Grove Plaza.
Artisans will be there selling their work, and every little bit helps to get them back in the business of helping Boise's newest refugee residents.
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