Highlights of 2005 – A Year of Homecoming
December, 2005
 Offering
a Warm Welcome
2005 has been an unprecedented year for Interfaith Refugee
Ministry and those we serve. IRM has built on its history of welcoming
displaced refugee families by extending many of the same services, especially
housing, to the evacuees fleeing the destruction of Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita.
IRM has expanded its services to offer increasingly responsive and useful
assistance. IRM’s Job Coordinator Roberto, Health Care Coordinator,
Kelly, and Case Manager Linda help refugee and evacuee families
become self-sufficient and contributing members of their
communities. We plan to build on our successes and continue
to pursue our mission of welcoming and settling newcomers
in need to Connecticut – both
international refugees and American evacuees – in the years ahead.
Our mission is to save lives, pursue justice and alleviate international
homelessness by offering resettlement and support services to refugees
in Connecticut.
To fulfill our mission, we offer a variety of essential services for
refugees’ well-being and independence:
- Welcome and orientation during their first days in Connecticut
- Locating
and furnishing safe homes – within a refugee’s limited budget
- Offering
English language training in culturally appropriate settings
- Promoting
job readiness through cultural orientation, job training
and referrals
- Coordinating
medical and dental care, including vaccinations and school
physicals for children
- Registering children for school, many for the first
time in their lives
- Arranging tutoring as well as after-school
or summer programs to ensure success in school
- Connecting refugees
with churches or other community groups for sponsorship
or support
Local Partnerships
More than 200 foreign refugees and
American evacuees received assistance from IRM this year.
The support of their new neighbors in Connecticut – volunteers,
sponsors, donors, and partners – is essential to the work of IRM.
The students and faculty of Quinnipiac University, in coordination
with IRM, raised funds and collected furniture to resettle
a family that lost its home in Hurricane Katrina. In New Haven, IRM joined
dozens of city agencies and other nonprofits to form a coalition of groups
welcoming and assisting evacuees from the Gulf Coast. |
