GREENSBORO, N.C. — The American Hebrew Academy campus in Greensboro will soon be home to immigrant children and create hundreds of jobs in the process.
The new name of the facility will be the Greensboro Global Academy.
Million Mekonnan with the North Carolina African Services Coalition is hopeful about the move.
"I think it's being put to good use and it's important, especially in such a humanitarian way to provide access to care for these children until they find a permanent place so I think it's a great investment," Mekonnan said.
The NCASC has been resettling refugees in Greensboro since 1997. Mekonnan said they provide programs to help them get acclimated to the city. He said the children who will be housed at this facility are part of a separate refugee program.
"So the children are referred by the department of homeland security to ORR to manage and provide all of the services including legal services for them until they are released from that care facility or reunited with their family or leave the facility for other care or any other means," Mekonnan said.
The academy will be leased to the federal government for five years but Mekonnan says how long a child stays there will vary.
“Based on my experience different kids have a different timeline for them to be released depending on the family depending on the cases or whether they’re going to apply for asylum cases or any other case," Mekonnan said.
Mekonnan says he is looking forward to hearing more about the academy very soon.