Holistic Services to Empower Newcomers

Immigrant and Refugee Support

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

More than 1 in 3 Angelenos are immigrants, many driven here by conflicts in their home countries. LA County's cultural diversity, strong economy, and resilience through crises depend on welcoming and integrating newcomers. It benefits our entire region to connect new arrivals with resources they need to begin life anew. Yet, newcomers face many obstacles that make settling in a challenge. For example, Jalil and Zuhal Barati fled Afghanistan to Los Angeles in 2021 with a 4-month old son, needing help to overcome trauma, language difficulty, and cultural unfamiliarity to find housing and stable employment. Successful integration and self-sufficiency require immediate, personalized support for newly arrived refugees and immigrants. The most urgent need is temporary housing, a priority for us with this grant. Once a newcomer family is stably housed, we can begin work on finding jobs, learning English, enrolling children in school, and addressing other needs.

NAC will expand its proven approach of holistically providing for clients' immediate and long-term needs. Our top priority is to secure temporary housing and furnishings for new families. Clients who are housed upon arrival have a much smoother path to finding jobs and enrolling children in school - otherwise, many resort to sleeping in the open, doubling up with family members, or staying in churches or motels. Once clients have a safe place to stay, NAC helps them establish stability in other areas of life. NAC engages its dynamic network of dedicated volunteers, donors, and community partners to provide resources families need next: furniture and appliances, grocery gift cards, jobs, school and summer camp enrollment, benefit applications, transportation, ESL tutoring, translators, rent subsidies, vehicle down payments, driving lessons, and more. Clients have varied needs, and we are prepared to provide personalized assistance to help them settle into their new lives. Thanks to immense contributions from volunteers and "graduated" families, NAC sustains a track record of stellar dollar efficacy that maximizes client benefits. Having temporary housing immediately available for new clients enables us to direct our financial and human resources towards newcomers' other needs. This grant increases our capacity to support more clients and promotes greater stability for families upon arrival, ultimately contributing to improved long-term outcomes.

NAC strives for new arrivals like the Barati family to become connected and empowered. When the Baratis arrived, NAC arranged a temporary furnished apartment and assisted Jalil in finding two part-time jobs. NAC put out word that Jalil was an artist, and within hours locals donated paints, brushes, canvas, a camera, and a computer. The family signed a lease on an apartment in Pomona with NAC's support. Now, Jalil has been promoted to manager at one of his jobs and Zuhal is expecting another baby. This is how we envision LA County will and should look: a place where the community welcomes newcomers and quickly helps them with their needs toward self-sufficiency. NAC aspires to have temporary furnished apartments ready immediately for new arrivals, and then to tap into our network of community members and past clients to help newcomers find better jobs and permanent housing. We believe in a more united, more vibrant shared community where newcomers feel immediately at home.

NAC works closely with clients as they move towards self-sufficiency. We conduct progress reports to monitor changing needs and services received, providing holistic aid as families build independence and no longer need our full assistance. Once our families have demonstrated sufficient autonomy, we consider them "graduates." Our goal for this project is for the families who are placed into temporary housing to have permanent housing, stable employment, and children enrolled and thriving in school. Regular check-ins with families allow us to ensure their progress, incorporate their feedback, and encourage self-advocacy. NAC will assist clients in these areas and supply other needs as they transition into their new lives and exhibit increasing levels of independence. Our focus in the clients' critical first 3-6 months after arrival is to establish stability and a clear path forward.