Imagine yourself disembarking from your plane in a new country. Perhaps you know no one, and the language is foreign.  How would you feel?  For the refugees arriving in Salt Lake City, Reception & Placement (R&P) case managers are there to welcome refugees to their new community. It is the caseworker’s responsibility to provide assistance to the refugee throughout the resettlement process, but their work is most crucial within the first few weeks. IRC staff secure apartments and establish utilities; they greet refugee families and individuals at the airport and take them to their new homes.  During their first few months in Salt Lake City, refugees become oriented to their new community and cutural norms, and learn new skills.  IRC staff also help refugees register for classes and for federal and state services, and for ESL classes and school. 

IRC Salt Lake City's Reception and Placement activities are supported by community members.  Items, such as couches, dining room tables and chairs, are provided in large part by generous donors in the local community.  With their help, IRC Salt Lake City provides recently arrived refugees with their first American home. 

The following household appliances and furniture are needed to establish apartments for refugees:

Couches and living room chairs

Dining room/cafe tables and chairs

Dressers, computer desks, lamps

Microwaves, toaster ovens, toasters, rice cookers, coffee pots and tea kettles, vacuum clears, dishes and dish sets, computers, TVs, VCRs and DVD players, new pots and pans, new cooking utensils, irons and ironing boards

Please contact the IRC Salt Lake City offices (801.328.1091) and ask for either Leah or Meghan for more information.