May 31st Speaker
Shechem Sauls spoke to us about his interactions with refugees at the Harmony Science Academy in Pflugerville, which is a public charter school. He told us that Pflugerville has a lot of refugees in its population and that there are 39 different languages at the school. Although previously a teacher there, Shechem is now working with school in a volunteer capacity and on its board. As a teacher and in his volunteer capacity, he tries to understand the cultural of the students. He told us that refugee families need help with basic needs support as finding work can be difficult. They need educational assistance and supplemental food assistance. As many come from war-torn places, they also need counseling assistance in the languages that they speak. Schechem also told us that some of the families are reluctant to seek help and that it is a challenge to find way to connect refugees with local communities such as local mosques, but he is working to bridge that gap and provide other assistance to refugees through is work with the Harmony Science Academy.