Of all the issues surrounding the Ukraine-Russia conflict, one really stands out for me—the thousands of children who have been abducted by Russian troops and sent to re-education camps and adoptive families all over Russia. There are currently 19,546 cases on file of abducted children. These children are being forcibly held in Russia and they are not able to contact their families back in Ukraine.

Over the last couple of months, funding for AmeriCorps and Vista programs has been drastically cut in Idaho and in the rest of the United States. These funding cuts have an immediate impact on the lives of those individuals who relied on AmeriCorps positions to help pay the bills. Beyond the immediate chaos that this defunding has created, eliminating AmeriCorps and Vista will impoverish our communities in many ways, well into the future.

We will be celebrating World Refugee Day 2025 on June 20^th in Pocatello and other communities around Idaho and the world, a day to  “honor the strength and courage of people’’ forced to flee their homelands. There will be music, dancing and delicious food from the over 20 countries representing our local, Idaho-based refugees and immigrants. 

What a stark contrast that idea is, with what is currently happening in the US with respect to refugees, immigrants and visitors to our country.