Fort Worth

Today there are over 80 million people around the globe who have been forced, or made the painful choice, to leave their homes. Threatened by extreme poverty, violence, and oppression, they leave behind everything familiar to seek a life free from fear. Thousands of these refugees, asylees and other immigrants in vulnerable situations come to the United States every year seeking a place to rebuild their lives. And together, we can help. At World Relief, we partner with the local church and hundreds of individual volunteers to assist newly arrived families in the United States. Since our founding over 40 years ago, our national network has welcomed over 294,000 refugees to the United States in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, and has served over 125,000 other immigrants by providing vital services and community connections. Whether it’s securing housing, supplying basic necessities, or enrolling children in school, we come alongside these families every step of the way as they begin on the path to belonging.

Having fled poverty, persecution, and war, refugees, asylees, and other immigrants often arrive in the United States with high hopes of building a better life for themselves and their children. Upon arrival, however, they face a staggering number of challenges as they seek to rebuild their lives. Not only do these families have many tangible needs to meet, such as housing, transportation, employment, and health care, but they also face a number of intangible challenges as they learn to navigate a foreign culture, far away from their friends and family. Many struggle with feelings of isolation, despair, anxiety and depression. World Relief’s holistic Case Management program is designed to help our new neighbors overcome these barriers so they can not only survive, but thrive, in their new home.  For over 40 years, we’ve been providing case management support to refugees and, most recently, other immigrants in vulnerable situations across our communities.  Our case managers support individuals and families to meet basic needs such as housing, access to food, and health care. We also partner with our clients to set goals, assess strengths, tackle challenges and connect families with local resources. This vital support serves as an anchor for many families who rely on this coaching to get on their feet after a crisis or during their first months in the U.S.  

Immigrants bring incredible skills and experience with them to the United States from their home countries, and are often eager to find a job to support their families as soon as they arrive. Finding employment in the United States, however, can be an overwhelming challenge and an uphill battle for many. Unfortunately, immigrants often face challenges adapting their skills to the US workforce and the barriers to entry can be significant - whether due to language, education or cultural obstacles. But we want to change that. Today, World Relief helps prepare thousands of immigrants for work in their communities through job placement, workplace education and training, financial literacy training, economic empowerment and resiliency, and ongoing career counseling. We also partner with a vast network of employers who value the experiences of immigrants.

Refugee and immigrant youth face significant challenges as they try to adapt to American culture, reestablish community and friendships, and adjust to new schooling and educational expectations. They also bring incredible promise and can be natural bridge-builders in their community as they engage two different cultures at home and school. Unfortunately, no federal or state programming currently exists to address the needs of these children or their shared trauma experiences. At World Relief, our desire is to see these youth flourish and reach their fullest potential, despite the early obstacles they face upon immigrating. We work to facilitate the healthy integration of immigrant youth into life in the United States. We do this by connecting youth and their parents, teachers, and administrators with early childhood programming, summer camps, multilingual academic support, mentorship, mental health resources, and other community integration opportunities.

Refugees and immigrants arriving in the U.S. come with a wide variety of educational and linguistic backgrounds, but all share the desire to integrate and thrive in their new home. Learning English - a gateway to life in the U.S. - is a critical part of this journey. Without basic English language skills, newly arrived refugees and other immigrants are unable to access the resources and services that help them navigate daily life in the US. Economic opportunities are also drastically limited, creating a significant barrier to flourishing in their new country. At World Relief, we’re working to change that reality. We believe every immigrant should have access to a high-quality, professional place to learn English With over 30 years of experience educating tens of thousands of adult students across the nation, our English as a Second Language (ESL) classes provide immigrants with the language skills, community connections, and independence they need to flourish and succeed in the U.S.

The path to legal immigration status for refugees, separated families and potential new citizens is exceedingly complex, fraught with numerous hurdles and frequent changes. Access to affordable legal services continues to fall woefully short of meeting the demand, despite the fact that many are unable to navigate this path on their own and can even face detrimental consequences if they do. As a result, many immigrants in the U.S. today live in fear and isolation, unable to truly rebuild a sense of home or belonging in the US. But together, we can help. For over 40 years, World Relief’s Department of Justice accredited Immigration Legal Services have served our immigrant neighbors and friends, providing the support and knowledge they need to obtain legal status for themselves and their families here in the U.S. Through direct service provision, training, referrals, advocacy, and education, World Relief walks alongside our immigrant community members on the path to stable immigration status, giving them the security and peace-of-mind they need to flourish in the U.S. We also build national capacity to meet this need by providing technical legal support to churches, volunteers and other community organizations.