Reception & Placement
Reception and Placement Core Services include the provision of housing, food, medical treatment, employment counseling, individualized case management and acculturation assistance to incoming refugees.
Family Unification
IRC Baltimore assists resettled refugees with the appropriate paperwork to request reunification of their immediate family members.
Asylee Program Services
IRC Baltimore assists asylees, individuals granted political asylum in the United States, with the provision of employment services, medical screening, and other benefits.
Matching Grant
The Matching Grant program is a federally funded intensive early-employment program to help refugee participants achieve self-sufficiency within four months of arrival. . Donations provided to the IRC are monetarily matched by the State Department, which ensures the program's sustainability.
Refugee Women's Leadership Project
The Refugee Women's Leadership Project is a new program to address issues unique to refugee women, and to encourage education and development of leadership skills among these women.
The Refugee Youth Project
The Refugee Youth Project is an after-school tutorial and enrichment program serving the refugee youth of Baltimore.
Money Matters: Financial Literacy Project
The Financial Literacy Project promotes better understanding of the financial system in America, and develops money management skills among the refugee population.
Americorps Vista Program
IRC Baltimore hosts AmeriCorps VISTA members who assist the agency build its capacity to better serve Baltimore's growing refugee community.
Getting a job is the key to starting a new life in Baltimore. The IRC's Matching Grant program plays a crucial role in helping refugees gain self-sufficiency. Instead of relying solely upon government aid, Matching Grant clients receive four months of assistance for necessities such as rent and utilities. The program breaks down barriers to employment by funding a full-time employment counselor, a volunteer/resource development coordinator and intensive job search services.
The IRC and the United States Office of Refugee Resettlement jointly fund the Matching Grant program. The IRC accepts donations such as cash, household goods, and volunteer time. These donations are then matched by the State Department on a 2 to 1 ratio, which means donated furniture worth $100 becomes $300 of funding for the Matching Grant program. A volunteer's donated time valued at $15 per hour means $45 more towards the program. Not only does the Matching Grant program provide critical help for refugees seeking employment and self-sufficiency, it also greatly expands the value of our dedicated volunteers' time and the generous donations of caring citizens.
Find out more about making a donation here, and about volunteering here.
IRC Community Collaboratives Program In Baltimore
Refugee Women Leadership Project
The International Rescue Committee is pleased to announce the creation of the Refugee Women Leadership Project, an innovative Community Collaboratives program that addresses the unique concerns of newly arrived refugee women from Africa and the Middle East. With funding provided by the Office of Refugee Resettlement at the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Community Collaboratives for Refugee Women and Youth offers training, technical assistance and funding nationwide to raise the level of programming for refugee women and youth. IRC Baltimore was one of three selected communities to receive a grant of up to $150,000 to address the most immediate needs of resettled refugee women and youth in the Baltimore Metropolitan region. Through this innovative project, refugee women and youth will participate in activities that reduce their barriers, teach self-reliance and leadership skills and enable their contribution to refugee communities and the wider community, thus leading to their greater integration.
Starting fall 2002, a select group of refugee women were given leadership training by the IRC and its community partners. Over the course of the year, these women became mentors to help educate other newly arrived women about such important topics as urban safety, women's health, the US legal system, and financial education. Several community agencies play a crucial role in this program's success. Organizations such as the American Red Cross, the Baltimore Medical System, Tressler Refugee and Immigration Services, and Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma have trained the mentors and assisted them in teaching other women. Together the partners will offer both mentors and their students vital knowledge about a wide range of issues that concern newly arrived refugee women. From babysitter training to financial literacy training, the mentors and community partners will work together to help refugee and asylee women and their families become healthier, better skilled, and more informed. By encouraging women to become leaders in their own communities, the Refugee Women Leadership Project will instill confidence, self-efficiency, and professional skill in the mentors while providing more educational opportunities for other refugee women. IRC Baltimore welcomes this opportunity for refugee women to become active, integrated members of their new hometown.
Refugee Youth Project
The Refugee Youth Project (RYP) was initiated in 2001 as a collaboration between the American Red Cross of Central Maryland and the IRC's Baltimore office to serve refugee children resettled in the Baltimore area. During the school year, the RYP hosts two tutorials a week: one for elementary school-aged children, and one for middle and high school students. Additionally, it coordinates educational fieldtrips, service-learning opportunities, and health-and-safety workshops. Most recently, the RYP established a bi-monthly art program to encourage self-expression through art. The RYP has given the refugee children an arena in which to more comfortably acculturate, as well as access to caring and enthusiastic tutors. Many mentors, primarily students from local universities, forge strong and long-lasting friendships with the youth participants. The RYP ensures a healthy environment where refugee youth can achieve academic and social success.
Financial Literacy Project
Understanding the financial system in the United States can be very difficult, even for people who are born in this country. For refugees arriving in the U.S., getting a handle on how to manage their money is just one of the many challenges they face in their adjustment to American life. It is difficult for refugees to make informed choices about their money without access to important information on the U.S. financial system. The Money Matters program is an Americorps VISTA initiative designed to help new Americans better understand the immediate issues related to money and financial management. Each month the project presents an information session on a specific financial topic to raise the awareness and understanding of the refugee community in Baltimore. Topics include: credit, filing taxes, homeownership preparation, basic banking, budgeting, and opening a small business.
