USCCB migration and refugee officials visit diocese, CCS

Intermountain Catholic

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Aden Batar, Immigration/Refugee Resettlement Director for Catholic Community Services of Utah speaks with Johnny Young, Executive Director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Migration and Refugee Services Office at the CCS offices.

SALT LAKE CITY — Catholic Community Services of Utah's (CCS) Refugee Resettlement Program has an excellent reputation for resettling up to 400 refugees each year, so when Johnny Young, Executive Director of Migration and Refugee Services for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), came to Utah, visiting the CCS program was high on his list of things to do.

Young, a retired ambassador with more than eight diplomatic postings to his name, was named to his USCCB position six months ago. His visit to Utah included meetings with Bishop John C. Wester, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration and Refugees, attending the Westminster College Interfaith panel on Immigration, "Beyond Borders, and Fronteras," and meeting with the staff of the CCS program.

Aden Batar, a native of Somalia, is director of the CCS Refugee Resettlement Program. Batar and his staff, representing more than six different countries, have been recognized nationally for their work and for having the most ethnically diverse program in the USCCB. They met with Young Feb. 14 at the CCS offices on 300 South in Salt Lake City.

After viewing a short film on CCS presented by Suzanne DeVoe, public relations director for CCS, Batar took Young on a tour of the facility, which includes administrative offices, in-patient treatment facilities for men and women, counseling services, and the refugee resettlement program.

When meeting with the refugee resettlement staff, Young said he was, "delighted to work with an organization that does such good work.

"When I give talks, it means a lot to see in the flesh an organization that gives testimony to what we do," Young said.

"Your work is much appreciated, and this office has a very good reputation," he said. "I can see how you have earned that reputation with all of you working together.

During their tour of the CCS Refugee and Resettlement offices, Batar showed Young the large white board his staff uses to keep each of the refugee families' status up to date. The board has the families' names, their countries of origin, their incoming flights, their housing arrangements, and the names of staff members and volunteers who will be standing by to meet them and assist them.

"The work you do here can serve as a model we can use in other states," said Young.