The Los Angeles IRC office has been in operation since 1975 when large numbers of Vietnamese refugees began arriving on the West Coast. Over the following years the Los Angeles office has worked with refugees from many countries. Los Angeles has become one of the major U.S. destinations for refugee groups. Currently the largest ethnic groups we serve are arriving from Bosnia, Iran and the former Soviet Union.

Newly arriving refugees are given an orientation to life in the United States through their caseworkers. Refugees are assisted with official paperwork such as obtaining social security cards and DMV ID cards, as well as connecting to services in their neighborhoods such as enrolling their children in school and finding ESL courses for adults. Time is spent discussing the advantages of early employment and encouraging refugees to enroll in IRC's employment program, the Matching Grant program. IRC Los Angeles's caseworkers represent the ethnic groups of the arriving refugees, many having entered as refugees themselves.

Refugees share a common story of discrimination, horror and abuse.  Refugees arrive in the United States only after being forcibly pushed from their own homes. IRC's philosophy is that early self-sufficiency reaps great rewards for refugee families and a return to dignity. Encouraging refugees to take employment and improve their language skills through enrollment in ESL courses will assist refugees to become independent and confident in their new homeland.