Staff Spotlight: Maha
Maha hard at work in the Toledo office!
Much of this month has been a celebration of our fantastic volunteers in preparation for Celebrate Toledo. Today we want to highlight the work of one of our staff who is also a former volunteer. Here at the Toledo office, we have a small but mighty staff. Maha is a case manager who started off as a volunteer in the summer of 2014. Maha supports refugees and works for US Together because she herself is an immigrant. She immigrated to the USA 16 years ago, and because of that she can empathize with her clients’ feelings, struggles, challenges, and worries. But she also understands their hopes and dreams. Her passion is to give New Americans support to achieve the successful life they dream of.
As a case manager, Maha provides support to our refugee clients starting the day of their arrival here in Toledo. She meets them at the airport and there begins the resettlement process. Once these new families have arrived, she enrolls them in the “Resettlement and Placement” program which is a government programs that allows US Together 90 days to make sure that all elements of resettlement (e.g., housing, employment, enrollment in school etc.) is complete within 90 days. After this period, she enrolls the clients in the Community Ethnic Program or the Preferred Community program for three years, depending on their level of need. The Preferred Community program is for clients with additional vulnerabilities such as those with a disability and the Community Ethnic programs is of all of the other clients. When asked about her role, Maha clarifies that even though enrollment in the programs is for three years, US Together never stop providing services to our clients.
As a case manager, Maha acts as a liaison between refugees and governmental agencies and healthcare personnel to ensure that care is provided promptly and effectively. Some assistance that she provides includes applying for social security cards, enrolling kids in school, scheduling and ensuring they receive their first health screening, applying for selective services, and enrolling them in other US Together programs including the Employment program and the English as a Second Language program. Maha’s other duties include performing intake interviews with families to ensure they understand the role and responsibilities of US Together as a resettlement agency, and their responsibilities as resettlement clients. She also conducts a cultural orientation. In addition to services provided directly to the clients, she also interacts with volunteers and service providers and the community to ensure that her clients are granted services and appropriate programming. In addition to these many responsibilities, Maha also assists our clients by providing transportation, acting as an interpreter, and providing information to clients as needed.
In a normal year, Maha’s days are full, but during the COVID-19 pandemic—in addition to her normal responsibilities—she has also helped some clients apply for unemployment, arranged to provide some cash assistance for those who need it, and supported those who have COVID until they recovered. US Together can only function with dedicated staff like Maha. Thank you Maha for all that you do!