Organizations and Initiatives

Many international organizations, government agencies, charities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and policy groups have been created to address refugees' needs. On the international level, NGOs and UN agencies seek to address the issues that force people to flee their homes in the first place, while also providing temporary assistance and a channel for people to apply for refugee status.

US Governmental Organizations

At the federal level, three main agencies have jurisdiction over different aspects of the resettlement process. The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for vetting potential refugee applicants and deciding whether to approve or deny applications for resettlement in the US. The Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) is a humanitarian part of the State Department. It manages foreign policy and international relationships with regards to national resettlement policy. PRM also manages the Reception and Placement Program which is responsible for determining where to send refugees, providing newly arrived refugees with temporary assistance and funding, and coordinating with resettlement agencies in each state. Lastly the Department of Health and Human Services provides long term assistance to refugees once they have been resettled.

Refugee Organizations in The DMV

In the US, the federal government has jurisdiction over resettlement as it applies to the different charters of bureaucratic agencies. State governments handle the logistics of resettlement. However many private charities and volunteer based organizations play a large role. Some states, like Maryland, have a public-private partnership where the state contracts private charities and organizations to help with resettlement while other states, like Virginia, administer most services on its own while still affiliating with charities and volunteers. A complete list of each state's affiliated organizations can be found here.

Some prominent organizations in the D.M.V. area are the International Rescue Committee (with offices in Silver Springs, Baltimore, and Charlottesville), Lutheran Social Services of National Capital Area, Commonwealth Catholic Charities, and Catholic Charities-Diocese of Arlington.

Other Organizations and Initiatives

Most organizations that work directly with refugees offer some kind of language assistance and sometimes offer help processing acculturation stress and other trauma. For example, the DC resettlement process works closely with Catholic Charities to offer assistance learning English, on the job training, and skills workshops. Other states may provide some initiatives on their own. Conversely some states offer few initiatives but may have charitable organizations and nonprofits that work with refugees.