Santa visits 525 refugee families in Des Moines with toys, clothes and toiletries

Wali Marjun Darwaan's son carried a bag nearly as tall as he was packed full of winter clothing, toiletries and a pair of cowboy boots across the parking lot at Hickman Flats, an apartment complex on Hickman Road. The family of Afghan refugees came to the complex to visit Santa Claus, who made an early trip to the Des Moines metro on Saturday with the help of Des Moines Refugee Support.

The local nonprofit, founded in 2016 by local Des Moines Public School teacher Alison Hoeman, provides basic needs to refugees living in the Des Moines metro. Saturday's "Santa's Ride" event, which brought Santa Claus and truckloads of donated clothes, toiletries and home supplies to six different locations across the city, has become a tradition for the volunteer organization over the past three years, according to Hoeman.

The line at Hickman Flats snaked around the corner and through the parking lot as families from all over the world eagerly gathered in frigid temperatures, many of them without winter coats and proper warm clothing. The "Santa's Ride" event serves to fill in those gaps and keep families struggling to obtain basic necessities warm and safe over the winter season.

"Part of it is just like come and get a toy. It's Christmas. And part of it is just like, there are so many people that need blankets...or that need food or that need warm clothes," Hoeman said. "We've got stuff that we know people need and we just want to get it out to people who need it."

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Meeting refugees' basic needs in Des Moines

In addition to struggling to meet basic needs, language barriers and a lack of social support only make it more difficult for refugee families to navigate life in Iowa, according to Hoeman.

Last April, at least 25 adult refugees from Afghanistan told the Des Moines Register they had insufficient assistance — including a lack of long-term housing, food and medical care — and no word on when their situations might improve. During that time, more than 900 refugees had just arrived in Iowa, a part of the 76,000 that arrived in the U.S. in the months following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

"The resettlement agencies didn't have the capacity to do everything they needed to do," she said.

When Afghan refugees started arriving in Iowa, Hoeman said she had to pivot toward assisting with case management and ensuring people maintained access to much-needed government assistance as they resettled.

"We were getting calls from people who didn't have food, and no one had signed their kids up for school," she said.

Hoeman now works full time running Des Moines Refugee Support, with the help of a close-knit group of volunteers, many of whom are also teachers through the Des Moines Public School District.

Amy Beumer, a volunteer and teacher, led the set-up outside Hickman Flats on Saturday. Standing beside a tarp filled with shoes of all sizes, countless boxes full of winter clothing, and tables lined with basic necessities like canned food, diapers, and deodorant, Beumer said none of the work Des Moines Refugees Support does would be possible without those who donate their time, money, old clothing and anything else they can spare.

"All of these things are here because of that," she said.

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Everybody has a chance to meet Santa

While Des Moines Refugee Support primarily serves refugee families in Des Moines, Beumer said the event was open to anyone who might need a little bit of help during the holiday season.

"We don't turn anyone away," she said.

Jamie Islas, a 44-year-old single mother of two who lives in the Hickman Flats complex, said the event is a big help for her and her family, especially as inflation has made basic necessities less obtainable over the past few months.

"I wish there was a lot more. It helps a lot of people," she said. "Hopefully everybody out here finds something."

Hoeman said around 525 families attended Saturday's Santa's Ride event across six different locations in the city. Some families had up to eight people.

Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at @francescablock3.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Santa visits Afghan refugee families in Des Moines metro