The youth team at the IRC in Silver Spring enrolled 84 middle school and high school students in our first in-person Summer Youth Academy since 2019 to empower newly arrived school-aged children to obtain the knowledge, skills and education needed to integrate, be self-sufficient and assert control over their futures.

Thank you to everyone who donated and supported newly arrived families with housing needs!

The Violence, Prevention and Response (VPR) unit implements programming that prevents violence against women, children, especially girls, and other vulnerable groups, and responds to it when it does occur.

Parwana, Afghan parolee and mother of two, is no stranger to overcoming adversity. When her family fled to the U.S. after the Taliban took control of Kabul, she was prepared to face many challenges as they built a new life for themselves in Maryland. “My only goal was for my kids to go to school, my husband to get a job, and I hoped one day I would learn English.”