This March, the IRC in Silver Spring moved to 8737 Colesville Road in Silver Spring and rebranded as the International Rescue Committee in Silver Spring: Welcome Center for Immigrants and Refugees. After 17 years of service, the IRC in Silver Spring reflects on its history and growth in the community. Tin Tin Oo, Operations Manager at the IRC in Silver Spring said: 

The new IRC in Silver Spring office has an exceptional openness and brightness that serves to energize staff, clients and partners. We're remarkably lucky to occupy a space that promotes and fosters a spirit of togetherness, hope, and collaboration.

The IRC in Silver Spring opened in July 2006, becoming the second IRC office in Maryland following the IRC in Baltimore. Five years later, the IRC in Silver Spring joined a coalition of refugee-serving organizations to form the Suburban Washington Resettlement Center (SWRC).  The coalition aimed to create a “one-stop shop” where refugees could access all the services they required under one roof.  As each organization grew to serve larger numbers of immigrants, our partners moved to their own locations in Silver Spring. Despite this, the IRC in Silver Spring continues to collaborate with our partner agencies.  

Due to the current administration’s commitment to rebuild the refugee resettlement program and the humanitarian crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine, the IRC in Silver Spring doubled to more than 80 staff members, creating a need for more office space.  At the same time, the office now serves a much wider range of humanitarian immigrants including Afghan and Ukrainian humanitarian parolees, Cuban-Haitian entrants, asylees, Special Immigrant Visa-holders, and survivors of human trafficking. Similarly, the types of services that the IRC offers expanded to include financial coaching, children’s legal services, asylum applications, and pre-K education support.  

Ruben Chandrasekar, IRC’s Acting Regional Director, shared: 

The growth in programs, clients served and the support of our partners, volunteers and staff members, the IRC in Silver Spring is proud to re-brand as the International Rescue Committee in Silver Spring: Welcome Center for Immigrants and Refugees. Through this initiative, we hope to better represent ourselves as a resource, not just for refugees, but for all humanitarian immigrants and asylum seekers joining our community in Maryland.