How You Can Help Refugees & Immigrants TODAY!

Many in our community are asking what they can do to better support refugees and immigrants at this time. It goes without saying that Refugee Transitions is mobilizing fast and working around the clock to assemble critical information to inform and help RT families. We’re extremely grateful for the enormous support we’ve received from volunteers, supporters, and RT friends. We want to share some ideas on how you can support newcomers today.

1. AGITATE AND ADVOCATE

We are alarmed by the recent executive orders affecting refugees and immigrants. These orders present a blow to human rights. And they don't reflect our values. 

California is fortunate to have state and local leaders who are ardent defenders of diversity and social justice. Call them, leave voicemails, mail letters, or visit their offices. Urge them to continue supporting refugee resettlement, Sanctuary City, and other policies that protect refugees and immigrants. They really do listen! Here is a list you can use: 

• U.S. Senator Kamala Harris

• U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein

• Find your Representative

• Find your California legislators

• Mayors: Ed Lee (San Francisco), Libby Schaaf (Oakland), Sam Liccardo (San Jose)

2. GIVE

The executive orders have triggered uncertainty within our communities. It is essential that affected newcomers understand their legal rights, receive the support, are connected with relevant and timely resources, and have ready access to information and means of communication. As we mobilize to meet these urgent needs, we are also also focused on continuing to provide safe spaces and as much normalcy as possible for newcomers working hard to become self-sufficient.

Here are ways you can help now: 

+ Help RT raise $10,000 to support refugee & immigrant community leaders

RT identifies and provides formal training to refugee and immigrant community leaders (youth and adults), leveraging the incredible assets they bring to the U.S. and connecting them with our network of resources and supports. In turn, these community leaders help newer members of our communities navigate their way in the U.S. An immediate need is funding to support the work of these leaders. They provide an essential bridge to their communities, helping to ensure that all newcomers we work with know their rights and have access to vital resources.

Our community leaders help translate from/to Arabic, Pashto, Spanish, Chinese, Tigrinya, among other languages. They serve as cultural ambassadors and peer tutors. Your donation helps us provide stipends to these community leaders as well as fund training sessions and materials. HELP us compensate the efforts of these essential community leaders.

+ Help RT stock computer lab with at least 20 touchscreen notebooks so that everyone has access

Through our computer class in Oakland, RT students are gaining technology skills that help them access critical information in English and in their native languages. Thanks to this essential resource, they are learning their rights and communicating with loved ones back home. HELP us stock our computer lab with touchscreen notebooks so that everyone has access.

+ Help RT boost our capacity to train more volunteer tutors for new arrivals

Thanks to the support of 200+ wonderful volunteers, RT can provide individualized services to 1,800+ low-income newcomers each year. Incredibly, since January 27th, we received 100 new volunteer applications. Needless to say, our staff is working at maximum capacity to process new volunteers. Our onboarding process is rigorous. It is designed to ensure that by the time volunteers are matched with students, they are sufficiently well-trained. HELP us boost our capacity to train more volunteer tutors for newly arrived refugees and immigrants.

You can also help ease the financial burden for newcomer families, or help stock up a classroom, after-school program, or enrichment club with needed supplies. To see our specific needs and quantities, please visit our Amazon wishlist. 

3. GET INVOLVED IN LOCAL & NATIONWIDE EFFORTS

+ Legal Assistance for Newcomers

• Learn about what organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are doing to protect our freedoms in this critical time.
• If anyone you know is traveling and might be a target of the recent executive order, ask them for their flight information and confirm that they have arrived in the U.S. and made it out of the airport safely. For legal help, contact the local chapter of the ACLU.
• If you are a law student or a lawyer, check out the International Refugee Assistance Project to find out which airports need legal help.
• Refer attorneys who would like to offer their pro bono services to Equal Justice Law Center (San Francisco) and Centro Legal de la Raza (Oakland).

+ Rallies and Events

• Sign up for Bay Area Resistance & Rapid Response to be informed about protests and rallies in your area.
• Airport protests

4. EQUIP YOURSELF WITH KNOWLEDGE

+ Bookmark these pages for refugee and immigrant facts and figures:

• Community resources to assist your newcomer friends
• U.S. refugee vetting: the most extensive in the world
• Who is being resettled here? Refugee backgrounders
• The worldwide forced migration crisis: Get the data!
• Fleeing gang violence and economic duress: Migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador
• Myths about undocumented immigrants
• Unaccompanied minors from Central America
• The economic benefits of resettling refugees
• Refugees are the leaders of the future

5. RAISE AWARENESS, ENCOURAGE DISCUSSION & LISTEN

Share newcomer stories to encourage empathy, build solidarity, and challenge the dominant narrative about migration.

Share our new documentary, A Wish to Give Back: One Family's Journey to Community Leadership, with friends, family members, and your community. Check out our youth story project, Pursuing Dreams, or our cookbook, Between Meals. Consider hosting a solidarity event, and if you are a foodie, turn to Between Meals for a range of delicious authentic recipes that your friends will love. You can hold a fundraiser by making a meal from Between Meals and asking your friends to donate what they would typically spend on an evening out.

You will be inspired by the many rich contributions newcomers gift to our society--something we feel is so often overlooked. Follow RT on Facebook to to learn more, and share our posts when you find something that inspires you and lifts your spirit.

Sign up for the RT Newsletter

We are grateful to all of our amazing supporters! 

In Solidarity: Position Statement to Address New Political Realities

December 27, 2016: Refugee Transitions Pledges Solidarity and Additional Support to Students

For 30+ years, Refugee Transitions has delivered services to newcomers affected by some of the worst injustices of our time. These include war, ethnic cleansing, gang violence, discrimination based on race, gender and sexual orientation, and extraordinary economic duress. Despite the adversity that they have gone through, as well as the major challenges they face here in the U.S., our students inspire us daily with their courage and commitment to education and community engagement. We are fortunate to have our students as friends and neighbors, and learn from them every day.

We teach English language and literacy skills to encourage and optimize our students' success. We do this by creating a welcoming environment structured to promote learning and academics, overcome social isolation, and build confidence and newcomer leadership.

Today, on the cusp of the 2017 change in administration, our commitment is deeper than ever. Hate rhetoric is on the rise, sparking fear and great uncertainty amongst our students. This, of course, only strengthens our resolve to help them feel safe and supported. 

To help address the new uncertainties, we are implementing these actions:

1. We will equip our volunteers and community leaders with essential information to help students, their families, and the broader newcomer communities understand their rights, as well as ways to access critical local resources and service providers;

2. We will host a "Pathway to Citizenship" forum at our family engagement events where immigration lawyers and USCIS representatives will help students understand how to navigate the citizenship process;

3. We will work closely with our partners to join Rapid Response (legal help) and other community measures that foster safety;

4. We will expand services to ensure that newcomers gain the language skills needed to pass the citizenship test so that they can become engaged members of our communities, and informed voters as soon as they are eligible;

5. We will boost our network of volunteers, provide them with ongoing training and support, and connect them with newly arriving refugees and immigrants. With additional volunteer help, we can broaden our ability to create safe and welcoming communities, and encourage cross-cultural friendships to thrive throughout the Bay Area;

6. We will help newcomer leaders develop and strengthen community organizations that celebrate ethnicity and diversity, and promote engaged citizenry;

7. We will publicize stories of our students, showcasing their resilience and determination and challenging the dominant narrative about migration.

Above all, we'll continue to do what we do best: nurture the strengths of newcomer students, help their families thrive, and create opportunities for them to give back to the community. 

As the opening preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "... recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. "

"America Must Remain Open to People of All Faiths and Backgrounds"--Madeleine Albright

Refugee Transitions stands shoulder to shoulder with Muslims and other refugees who have been barred from entering the U.S., as well as immigrants forced to flee their countries due to war, violence, persecution, and/or extreme economic duress. We commend Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State and a refugee herself, for proclaiming her intention to "stand ready" to register as Muslim if Donald Trump took executive action that affects immigrants traveling to the U.S.

We support the nationwide efforts to save refugee resettlement and oppose any proposed ban on Muslims entering the country.

We commend Mayor Ed Lee (San Francisco) and Mayor Libby Schaaf (Oakland) for upholding Sanctuary City policies that reflect our Bay Area (and American!) values of compassion and diversity.

"The growing cry to turn away people fleeing for their lives brings to mind the SS St. Louis, the ship of Jewish refugees turned away from Florida in 1939," wrote The Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank in 2015. But the story of U.S. refugee resettlement was not always this shameful. Since 1975, our country has welcomed more than 3 million refugees, not only saving them from brutal regimes but also inviting them to rebuild their lives and contribute to their full potential.

With 30 years of experience, Refugee Transitions has seen firsthand how extensive the admission and vetting process is for refugees. There is no evidence to suggest that the process is mired in failure. In fact, refugees are by far the most rigorously processed category of people seeking entry to the U.S. See our most recent film, A Wish to Give Back, about a refugee family from Burma--it took them 2 years to secure approval for resettlement. And refugees from Syria, Iraq, and other predominantly Muslim countries go through even more extensive screening.

At Refugee Transitions, we work with forced migrants who have experienced war, violence, persecution, and/or extreme economic duress. Many are survivors of some of the worst atrocities of the 21st century. But in spite of those challenges, our students inspire us every day with their courage, resilience, and fierce dedication to contributing to our shared communities. Furthermore, research has repeatedly shown that migrants benefit their new communities by starting businesses, paying taxes, supporting local businesses, and enriching our cultures.

We are honored that friends from Syria joined our community recently. We strongly urge the U.S. government to continue the Syrian resettlement program, and indeed, increase the number of those admitted from the 2016 count of 12,000+.

We stand by our conviction that refugees, asylees, and immigrants must be welcomed in our communities, and we invite you to stand with us!

Take action now to call your Senators and Representatives!

Find your Representative
Find your Senator

Solidarity, Dignity, Respect: What can YOU do to build community?

January 23, 2017

As we transition to the new Administration in Washington, D.C., it's a fitting time for us at Refugee Transitions to reaffirm our commitment to community, diversity, and human rights.

Refugee Transitions was founded on the same principles that drove crowds to attend Women's Marches in cities across the nation. These principles include a deep respect for human rights, and an abiding support for the rights of women. Indeed, we started as The Refugee Women's Program in 1982, providing services to socially and linguistically isolated newcomers such as new mothers, seniors, and people with disabilities.

Today, the journey for newcomers has become more difficult. But our commitment to easing their transition and nurturing their strengths is deeper than ever. In fact, as the balance of power changes in Washington, D.C., we're taking extra steps to strengthen our support of the individuals and families we serve. You can learn more in our statement published here. 

We invite you to JOIN US in building community, encouraging cross-cultural relationships, and promoting solidarity with our newcomer friends and neighbors.

Many in our community are asking how they can make a difference. Here is a selection of ideas:

1.  RAISE AWARENESS, ENCOURAGE DISCUSSION & LISTEN

Share newcomer stories to encourage empathy, build solidarity, and challenge the dominant narrative about migration.

Share our new documentary, A Wish to Give Back: One Family's Journey to Community Leadership, with friends, family members, and your community. Check out our youth story project, Pursuing Dreams, or our cookbook, Between Meals. Consider hosting a solidarity event, and if you are a foodie, turn to Between Meals for a range of delicious authentic recipes that your friends will love. You will be inspired by the many rich contributions newcomers gift to our society--something we feel is so often overlooked.

2.  MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

Learn about what advocacy organizations are doing to support human rights, and take action by calling your representatives or signing petitions.

3. ENGAGE & LEARN FROM NEWCOMERS

Administrations come and go, but being kind, encouraging, and willing to learn will never go out of style. So, at a time of fear and rising uncertainties, lend a helping hand when you can, and listen to the perspectives and experiences of courageous and resilient folks that we are proud to call our neighbors. Read articles such as this one by our advisor Clemantine Wamariya. Follow us on Facebook to learn more about the contributions newcomers are making, and share our posts when you find something that inspires you and lifts your spirit.

4. GIVE

Your ongoing support helps us make tangible impact in our shared communities. You are helping our newcomer students learn English, graduate high school, acquire valuable job and community leadership skills, get citizenship, and successfully navigate life in the U.S. From youth leader stipends, to books and technology for our classes, to community workshops--every dollar makes a difference!

Thank you for your support of our cause!