For many refugees, the first year can feel like a race against the clock to set up a new life.
You get a little cash up front and a few months of help from a social worker.
Then, you’re mostly on your own.
We followed three refugee arrivals, from touchdown at Sea-Tac Airport to eight months into their lives here. Eight months, because that’s when refugees without families stop receiving small federal payments.
Their stories are as different as the countries they come from, but they start with a similar thread – leaving despair behind and grasping for hope.
