The story of Adama, who fled Mauritania to find safety and peace in Colorado.

RYSA, now the Newcomer Youth Summer Academy (NYSA), welcomes dozens of Peer Mentors as key team members each year. Alice, a Peer Mentor for RYSA 2020 - a virtual and unusual year - offers her reflections below. Inspired? Volunteer with NYSA 2021

The IRC in NY is delighted by the event turnout at the Youth & Wellness Panel that occurred on Wednesday, May 3 at M.M.LaFleur in NYC! Avigail Ziv, the Executive Director for both the New York and New Jersey Resettlement offices, led a discussion with the IRC’s NY Senior Youth Program Manager, Pat Curran, and Health and Wellness Manager, Andrew Jones. See below for Andrew and Pat’s insights into the ways trauma-informed supports are critical to helping youth become more aware and confident about their mental health journey.

Phyllis Korogodsky, a loan officer with the IRC in Phoenix, was recently recognized by the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) with a resolution at their quarterly board meeting. The resolution read: “...[T]he CEO Board recognizes and thanks Phyllis Korogodosky for her exceptional service in her role as a Loan officer and Financial Coach for refugees in Arizona.” CEO is a subsidiary of the IRC that offers participants access to a range of affordable financial products that can accelerate clients’ upward economic mobility.  Recently certified by the U.S. Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), the Center offers credit-building, auto, and business loans to low-income borrowers. 

As a former refugee from Eritrea, Yassin has a unique understanding of how the resettlement process works. Though his work as a caseworker for the IRC in Baltimore, he is able to share his experiences and assist newly arrived refugees and Asylees as they rebuild their lives.

Goldman Sachs’ employees learned about IRC in Salt Lake City women’s empowerment programming and held a month-long donation drive in honor of Women’s History Month to support newly resettled refugees in our community.