Nearly ten years ago, Refugee Care Collective began as an effort to re-envision refugee care in Portland, Oregon. Today, we celebrate the incredible impact our programs have had in the lives of thousands of people, and we applaud our community for responding to the needs of our resettled neighbors.

Since 2015, Refugee Care Collective has:

• Provided essential care to over 1,500 families as they worked to rebuild their lives in Oregon.

• Distributed more than 8,000 restart kits to newly arriving families.

• Mobilized and paired over 800 mentors to walk alongside resettled families and youth over the course of one year. The vast majority of mentors and families we’ve paired over the last decade are still connected today.

• Addressed critical needs through housing assistance, grocery gift cards, and restock kits for hundreds of families as they worked toward self-sustainability.

• Partnered with more than 250 communities, including faith communities, businesses, and schools in serving our resettled neighbors. More than 90% of mobilized communities were brand new to refugee care.

• Created innovative solutions and developed novel programs that have been replicated both locally and in several states.

We are proud to have witnessed countless families who are now thriving and no longer in need of our support. Single mothers having the opportunity to learn English, parents receiving jobs that align with their strengths, children who are fulfilling their potential in school – all who carry an immense gratitude to the community that welcomed them in their hardest moments.

A few of the families we’ve had the honor of coming alongside shared with us:

• “Thank you so much for all the support that we received from Refugee Care Collective. You helped us with mentorship and all the necessary items. We will never forget that you held our hands in the difficult moments of our life. We are very grateful.”
  An Afghan family of 4, and recipients of Family Mentorship, Restart Kits, Restock Kits

• “Thank you for all that you are doing, you have helped my community so much.”
  A family of 7 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and recipients of Family Mentorship, Youth Mentorship

• “I am truly grateful for your assistance. I still can’t believe it – it’s simply incredible. We were in such dire need of support, and you did not hesitate to step in. Your help has made all the difference. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
  A Ukrainian family of 5, and recipients of Housing Assistance, Family Mentorship

• “We did not understand why people cared about us or were helping us, but it gave us hope.”
  A family of 3 from Myanmar, and recipients of Restart Kits, Grocery Gift Cards, Youth Mentorship

We are endlessly inspired by the people we have come to know, who have invited us into their lives over the last decade. To be able to witness the extraordinary character, strength, and determination that marks so many of our neighbors continues to be a profound gift to those of us at Refugee Care Collective.

We are also moved by the response of people and communities across the city, who have given so generously these last ten years. We are reminded of the elementary school students selling homemade artwork to raise money for restart kits, the small church community whose members pulled from their resources to purchase a car for a Congolese family of eight, the local businesses making their job openings more accessible to our resettled neighbors, the small group of retired men who became mentors to meet weekly with Afghan fathers and sons, the mother who spends every Saturday afternoon helping a younger mom learn English, and so many more beautiful moments unfolding across our city. We have seen strangers become neighbors, and neighbors become family.

When Refugee Care Collective began, our greatest hope was that this work would be transformative – that it would not only create lasting impact in the community we serve, but also in the lives of those who join in this effort as well.

As we transition to being present to the needs of our neighbors in a new way, we look to the coming years of refugee care with hope and expectation. We invite you to learn more about the new season of Refugee Care Collective beginning in 2025, here.