“Why didn’t I think of that?” I wondered when I read the March 26 Metro article “American ‘mama bear’ helps refugees,” about a brilliant way to get supplies to refugees who arrive in this country with nothing. Then, as a former Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan, I thought, “Great, but where are our elected leaders?” Good-hearted Americans have always played a role in welcoming refugees in our communities, but they cannot replace the work of U.S. refugee resettlement agencies hit hard by recent Trump administration cutbacks.