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Refugee Women's Alliance 

Description

ReWA is one of the largest refugee and immigrant service providers in the region, delivering a continuum of culturally competent services to help refugees and immigrants thrive in their new home country. Programs and services include: Family Support, comprehensive employment services, Citizenship and Naturalization Program, Anti-Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault, accredited Early Childhood Education, Youth Program, Senior Services, Licensed Behavioral Health, Parent Education, ESL classes, Vocational Training, Developmental Disabilities, and Information & Referral. Services are delivered in 37 languages from 10 office locations.

Mission Statement
Refugee Women's Alliance (ReWA) is a non-profit, multi-ethnic organization that promotes inclusion, independence, personal leadership, and strong communities by providing refugee and immigrant women and families with culturally and linguistically appropriate services. ReWA advocates for social justice, public policy changes, and equal access to services while respecting cultural values and the right to self-determination.
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Refugee Women's Alliance
4008 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S 
Seattle 
WA
98108-1623 
(206) 721-0243 

Someireh Amirfaiz 
Executive Director 

Programs

Refugee Women's Alliance Programs

Family Support: As refugees and immigrants arrive in the U.S., they urgently need the support of public services; yet, for those with language and cultural barriers, navigating the system is difficult. ReWA’s Family Support Program provides culturally competent case management services to help clients access resources for basic needs, such as transportation and housing, and to work toward long-term self-sufficiency by connecting them to education and employment. In 2012, ReWA provided over 6,384 individuals with the services needed to make successful transitions into their new home country.

Education/Vocational Training: New arrivals often speak little English and lack transferable job skills and employment histories, making it extremely difficult to find work in the U.S. and achieve self-sufficiency. ReWA's Education and Vocational Training Program provides critical tools for helping refugees and immigrants learn English, gain job skills, find work, and maintain stable homes and incomes. In 2012, ReWA helped 602 clients learn English, and 505 families with job placement assistance to find employment with livable wages and benefits.

Early Childhood Education: ReWA’s Early Childhood Education Program offers a rich and culturally sensitive curriculum that fosters a dual-language model. Our Early Childhood Education Program enables each child to explore, gain skills, and build competencies. ReWA has two site locations: ReWA preschool located on Beacon Hill, serving children 3 – 5 years old, and ReWA childcare at the Main Office, serving infant – 3 years old. In 2012, ReWA served 152 children at our Beacon Hill and Main Office sites.

Recent Successes and Current Challenges

Recent Successes: 
  • ReWA recently launched an educational campaign, “Be a Hero,” aimed at engaging men and boys in Russian/Ukrainian and Somali-speaking communities as leaders and key partners in ReWA’s ongoing efforts to stop all forms of violence against women and girls.
  • In 2012, our Executive Director, Someireh Amirfaiz, was named as a 2012 Top Ten Contributor to the Asian Community by the Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation
  • Starting in 2011, ReWA opened a monthly Legal Clinic, providing free legal advice and referrals to low-income refugees and immigrants.
  • ReWA was one of two non-profit agencies in the Puget Sound area receiving the 2011 Neighborhood Builder Award from Bank of America, recognizing ReWA’s leadership, impact, and contributions to the community. 
Current Needs: 
  • Volunteers
  • Cash donations
  • In-kind donations (e.g. mattresses, baby diapers, food, clothing, and blankets)

Evaluation


Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA) delivers a continuum of culturally competent, wrap around services in 35 languages to support refugee and immigrant families as they adjust to life in their new home. Programs include: Family Support, Domestic Violence, Early Childhood Education, Senior Nutrition, licensed mental health services, parent education, ESL, vocational training, and specialized programming for people with developmental disabilities.

Proven Success
REWA was one of two non-profit organizations in the Puget Sound that received the Neighborhood Builder Award from the Bank of America. REWA will receive $200,000 in operating support as well as leadership development training over the next two years. This award recognizes ReWA’s leadership, impact and contributions to the community.

Best Practices
ReWA strives to be a “one stop shop” for refugee and immigrant families seeking services, providing mental health, education, employment, and social services under the same roof. Services are offered in 35 languages, in 10 locations throughout King County. By hiring culturally and linguistically appropriate staff, ReWA is able to break down many of the barriers preventing refugees and immigrants from accessing mainstream services.

ReWA’s programs are constantly adapting to meet the needs of newly arriving populations; this is both a challenge and an opportunity, as it requires hiring additional staff and translating program materials while increasing their scope and ability to serve additional populations. They have also been able to hire additional staff with the cultural and linguistic ability to serve newly arrived populations, such as the Burmese and Bhutanese communities.

Financial Health
While ReWA has felt the strain of the economic climate over the last 12 months, their diverse funding streams have enabled them to continue offering the same level of programs, and even increase the amount of services offered in some cases; they have increased support services available to single refugees, expanded their senior meal program to serve the Bhutanese community in South King County, increased their domestic violence support group language offerings to include Arabic, hired a staff immigration attorney and received accreditation from the Board of Immigration Appeals so that certain staff members may represent clients in immigration matters in front of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service.

Grant History with The Seattle Foundation:

Grants Awarded through The Seattle Foundation Grantmaking Program:

DateAmountPurpose
3/10/2013 $20,000.00provide general operating support.
12/10/2011 $20,000.00support general operating expenses.
12/10/2010 $25,000.00support general operating expenses.
10/1/2008 $50,000.00support general operating expenses.
6/16/2005 $50,000.00support general operating expenses and the purchase of computer equipment.

Financials

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