Welcome Circles
VIDEO: Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, members of three faith communities in St. Louis, Mo. came together to welcome a family of evacuees and help them get settled in the United States. (SideXSide Studios)
What is a Welcome Circle?
A Welcome Circle is a group of individuals who provide financial, resettlement, and emotional support to newcomers arriving to the U.S. through pathways that complement the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), such as Ukrainians, Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, and Afghans with Humanitarian Parole. Welcome Circles support newcomers for six months or until they reach self-sufficiency. Circles can form as part of a synagogue, organization, community center, or other faith or interfaith community, or they can be made up of private individuals.
At this time, Welcome Circles must identify the individuals or families they wish to sponsor. If you are looking to be matched with a refugee for resettlement, learn more about the Welcome Corps program.
Most circles have 5-8 core members who lead on different tasks, such as finding housing, signing up for benefits, helping enroll children in school, and assisting adults with job readiness and employment. In the U.S., HIAS works closely with Welcome Circles all over the country, providing volunteers with a wide range of support on all aspects of refugee resettlement, including dedicated support, specially developed resources, and access to a vibrant, online community. In Europe, HIAS works with Welcome Circles across the continent who are assisting those who have fled Ukraine.
Requirements
Please note that all Welcome Circles must:
- Launch with a minimum of five people over the age of 18. HIAS recommends the core group not exceed eight people.
- Commit to a six-month period of support, with the goal of assisting adult newcomer(s) to achieve self-sufficiency.
- Raise funds to assist newcomers with initial living expenses. HIAS has tools to help you with this calculation.
- Pass mandatory background checks and an online knowledge assessment on the roles and responsibilities of circles as part of the application process.
- Develop and submit a “Welcome Plan” which articulates the ways the Circle will connect newcomers to services during the initial resettlement phase. This plan will cover securing housing, accessing benefits, connecting to healthcare and education, and other forms of community orientation.
Impact
"It feels like we are home and with family."
After fleeing the fighting in their hometown of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Eduard and Daria Levit and Eduard’s parents, Oleksandr Kushnarov and Tamila Kushnarova, were matched with a Welcome Circle in Portland, Oregon to help them start their lives in the U.S.
“Before we arrived I didn’t know exactly how it would be,” said Eduard. “But from the airport we came to our house — a private house. We have furniture, food, we have everything. From zero to hero! We have everything we need.”
Read more
Standing outside their new home in Portland, Oregon are from left to right, Tamila Kushnarova, her son Eduard Levit, his wife Daria Levit and Tamila’s husband Oleksandr Kushnarov. After fleeing the fighting in their hometown of Kharkiv, Ukraine, the family was resettled with help from the ShalomPortland Welcome Circle. (Katharine Kimball for HIAS)
Why Partner with HIAS?
HIAS is a frontrunner in the fast-developing private sponsorship landscape. Since the inception of the Welcome Circle program in late 2021, HIAS has trained, vetted, certified, and provided ongoing guidance to more than 100 Circles across 20 states in the U.S., serving over 400 individuals to date. In Europe, HIAS has launched circles in 12 countries, and has served more than 1,000 displaced Ukrainians.
HIAS offers Welcome Circles a range of supports, including one-on-one guidance, regular workshops and trainings, weekly office hours, downloadable tools and guides, and a online Community of Practice that provides 24/7 access to resources, discussion boards, and more.
Contact
For more information about HIAS Welcome Circles, please email PrivateSponsorship@hias.org.
