Amid protracted crises in Yemen the IRC's EU-funded mobile medical teams provide respite to displaced families.

Bike Walk Wichita provides bicycles, helmets, lights, reflectors, and locks to newly arrived refugees to help them get to work on time and build self-sufficiency.

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.

Part two in a three-part series, these deep dives better explain the process of refugee resettlement in Kansas. In December, we covered the basics of who refugees are and initial resettlement in the U.S. This month, the focus is on refugee resettlement in Kansas during the first 24 months after arrival, including the efforts of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Kansas to help families positively integrate and thrive in their new community.

This year, the IRC in New York’s New Roots Community Gardens (NRCG) in Queens is celebrating its second year since its grand opening during the pandemic in 2021. The garden has come a long way, providing a safe space for members to make new friends, harvest veggies/herbs, and connect with the land. 

Each spring, the IRC in San Diego provides free tax preparation as part of the IRS VITA (Virtual Income Tax Assistance) program. In 2019, the program filed over 3,500 returns and generated more than $5 million in refunds for low-income San Diego families. This tremendous impact would not be possible without the hard work of our incredible volunteers, who work as IRS-certified tax preparers from mid-January through April.

It was October 16, and there were over 280 people filling into SOMArts gallery in downtown San Francisco. This was GenR’s Force for Change event, where there was an outdoor bar with a DJ, and a huge gallery space full of tables of cookies and kabobs from Afghanistan, salads from Burma, and sweets from Syria. In a black box room off to the side of the gallery, there were huge photographs, propped up on easels, of refugees girls ages 8 through 11 embodying what they want to be when they grow up. The girls, who live all around the Bay Area, were posing as doctors, lawyers, and rock stars, in culmination of an empowerment workshop called The Vision Project, which was formed in collaboration with IRC. Guests milled around, observing, eating, enjoying themselves, and then they were gathered around a stage in the main gallery.  This was where the speech was going to take place.

Our impact: From supporting refugee youth in their next step of their academic careers to continuing to provide life-changing case management support to asylum-seeking families, the IRC in San Diego is pleased to share a brief look into what we have accomplished this Spring.