TAMPA, Fla. — Sifting between two storage units in search of a crib, Mahsa Fatourechi and a team of volunteers with Radiant Hands are racing the clock.

The group had just one day to piece together three bedrooms and a living room from the charity’s furniture donations and transport them to an apartment by the University of South Florida. By sunset, their goal was to fully furnish the apartment that would become a perminant home to a family of seven Afghan refugees the next day. 

“We’re really saving this family money that they already don’t have,” Fatourechi explained. 

Radiant Hands works closely with resettlement agencies like Lutheran Services Florida. Afghan families are leaving U.S. military bases in search of making a new life in different cities across America, and so far more than a dozen have relocated to Tampa. Fatourechi says another 40 Afghan families are expected here in the Bay Area before Thanksgiving.

“I feel very sad for these families, they left everything behind and they just came with the clothes on their backs,” she said. “To provide such small things and see the children be so happy, makes a big difference and makes us not take what we have for granted.” 

The team with Radiant Hands helps to find housing, provide furniture, groceries, rides and translation services to these Afghan families. 

With income requirements and landlord restrictions, the biggest challenge has been finding affordable apartments. 

“Coming here with no background checks and no history of living in America, landlords don’t want to rent to them,” Fatourechi explained. She says the refugees who have already relocated here have worked quickly to find jobs nearby, but the first step is getting a permanent address.

Fatourechi was able to work with a landlord to secure 4 apartments in a north Tampa community. With dozens more families on the way, she’s not sure where they will be able to find space. 

Radiant Hands is in need of landlords and furniture donations.