Over the past five years I’ve volunteered with IRC in various ways. One of my most intense experiences was spending two weeks at Fort Bliss, one of the U.S. landing sites for Afghan evacuees after the fall of Kabul. I want to share a few highlights from my experience and give you an inside look at what it means to work and walk alongside IRC staff and clients.

IRC's amazing community of supporters have sewn and donated more than 500 masks for newcomer families. Learn more about the efforts of these creative volunteers and how you can join them in helping our newest neighbors impacted by COVID-19.

Growing up in Afghanistan, Fatima was taken out of school at a young age and never learned to write her name. After she and her family left their war-torn country to come to Turlock in 2018, she enrolled earlier this year in IRC's Afghan Path to Wellness course. Now, after finishing the course, Fatima can write her name and has obtained her learner's permit.

On October 10, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a policy change that would make it much more difficult for immigrants building new lives in the United States to access health care, find housing, or feed their families.