Hearts and Homes for Refugees

Volunteers and community institutions have a strong desire to ease the transitions, integration and independence of refugees to American life.

Recognizing and tapping into the abundant resource of goodwill with a vision of shifting the paradigm of U.S. refugee resettlement, Hearts & Homes' mission is organized around the following mandates: WELCOME, CONVENE, EDUCATE, ADVOCATE. Hundreds of committed partner groups and trained volunteers have come together to welcome aspiring Americans to our communities in the Lower Hudson Valley and beyond.

Hearts & Homes for Refugees has been leading the welcoming movement, practicing and promoting the Community Sponsorship Model of Resettlement since 2016 when we resettled the first refugee family to Westchester County. Thanks to a dozen community sponsor groups and two Resettlement Agencies (HIAS and Catholic Charities) there are now nearly 100 resettled refugees in Westchester County. Hearts & Homes continues to mentor and coordinate volunteer groups or individuals, to seed more community sponsors to partner with resettlement agencies in resettling refugees. The time and resources offered by community sponsors to arriving refugees offer better chances for successful integration and independence.

To build on the welcoming momentum Hearts & Homes created additional programs that support our new neighbors, and create cross-cultural awareness and understanding about their journeys and needs. We empower our new neighbors with key life skills and needs such as housing and furnishings, language, driving, employment, education, and counseling assistance. The population we help includes traditional refugees, Special Immigration Visa holders (our allies from Afghanistan and Iraq), those seeking and granted asylum, and survivors of human trafficking.

In order to inspire, educate and equip others to welcome and advocate for refugees Hearts & Homes organized a dynamic network of more than 40 aligned groups in Westchester, and is a founding member of part of a national network of 24 sister community organizations. Over 2,000 volunteers are a critical piece of this scalable model for how to resettle, assist and advocate for our new neighbors. More than 800 of our new neighbors are directly impacted each year by the growing goodwill in our communities. Hearts & Homes for Refugees is lean but mighty. We are building communities that offer refugees soft landings and support for better outcomes as aspiring Americans. We depend on the contributions of time and resources from like-minded volunteers and partners who believe everyone deserves a safe home and a hopeful future.