Refugee resettlement requires many roles to support clients across service areas. Unsurprisingly, housing is a distinct area of need in New York City. As the Housing and Logistics Specialist in the IRC in NY’s Resettlement Department, Annie Lyall is a key player in ensuring clients have a strong start to life in New York. Below, Annie Lyall reflects on a recent success.

Family in front of their garage
The neighborhood's newest residents make themselves at home.
Photo: Annie Lyall Slaughter/IRC.

In my role as Housing & Logistics Specialist in the IRC’s New York Resettlement Office, I work closely with refugee families in their first month of arrival to secure apartments and furnish their homes with donated goods and necessities. Recently, I had the privilege of working with an Afghan refugee family who arrived in New York in December after spending the last ten years in Turkey. Finding an apartment for this family made me particularly proud of IRC’s commitment to our clients, especially with the challenging process of finding a home in New York City.

Qiyameddin, Maliheh, and their three and six year old daughters, Zeynab and Esma, now live in a ground floor apartment of a private house in the quiet and residential neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens. The family was thrilled to secure the apartment—Esma and Zeynab were particularly excited about their new outdoor patio and backyard!

3 people building a furniture piece
All hands on deck to help build the family's new furniture.
Photo: Annie Lyall Slaughter/IRC.

After attending the lease signing with the family and helping them understand their rights and responsibilities as tenants in New York City, I enlisted the help of our partner organization, Ruth’s Refuge, to furnish the apartment. Ruth’s Refuge hired a moving company to deliver donated furniture to the family, including couches, rugs, beds and bed frames, dressers, kitchen appliances, cookware and even a miniature kitchen table set for the girls. With the help of Qiyameddin and two Ruth’s Refuge volunteers, we assembled a bunk bed for Zeynab and Esma. The girls were so excited about the prospect of sleeping on a bunk bed that they could hardly help themselves from climbing on it before it was finished being built. While they waited, the girls made popcorn in their new microwave to share while we finished setting up their bedroom.

As new residents, Qiyameddin reflected on his housing search experience. “IRC worked very hard to help us find an apartment. We really want to extend our thanks for everything IRC did for us to find this apartment and furnish it for our family.” IRC is proud of Annie Lyall’s hard work for this family and all of the new arrivals she supports throughout the year. 

two children testing their bunk beds
Zeynab and Esma are very excited about their new bed!
Photo: Annie Lyall Slaughter/IRC.

Now that the family is settled in their new home, Zeynab and Esma will soon start school at a nearby public school in Forest Hills, following enrollment assistance from the IRC in NY's Education and Learning staff. Qiyameddin and Maliheh are currently attending job readiness workshops as the IRC’s Economic Empowerment staff work to match Qiyameddin and Maliheh with their first employment opportunities in New York.

Support Annie Lyall’s work and IRC’s valued partner, Ruth’s Refuge, to help welcome our newest neighbors here in New York!