2022 Annual Report

Muzhgan Azizy came to the United States from Afghanistan just weeks before the fall of the Afghan government to the Taliban. She soon found a home at LIRS, where she worked on both the Programs and Development teams. “This was a second home for me always,” she says. “I got my Fulbright scholarship and came for my studies here. I’m grateful for that, but now it’s my first home.”

Norma, an immigrant from Kenya, had struggled to find meaningful, lucrative work in the United States despite her education and experience. With the help of the New American Cities program, she worked with a Pathway Builder to improve her resume and make critical connections—helping her land a great marketing job at a company that pays her what she’s worth and allows her to work remotely. “What was different about this program for me is that they were keen at utilizing my strengths and my potential to get me something that would really fit into what I had envisioned,” she said. “The quality of life that we have now is completely different.”

Bridget and Chris were inspired to become foster parents for unaccompanied immigrant children after witnessing the family separation crisis of 2018. Since then, the couple has welcomed 15 children into their home, providing a safe and loving place to land until they can be reunited with their families. Bridget and Chris will never forget the first child they fostered: a four-year-old little girl was pulled from her grandmother’s arms at the border and cried for the first two weeks in their care. In time, she was united with her father—the first of many reunions the couple would witness in their foster journey. “There are tears and hugs,” as Bridget says, “and you know, in that moment that a very difficult chapter in the family’s story is over.”

Many immigrants and refugees carry trauma with them long after they flee their home countries, but mental healthcare is often not readily accessible or available. In response to this gap, LIRS piloted Mental Health Services programming in 2021 and continues to offer essential care for individuals and families.

Among the beneficiaries of these services this year have been two children from Afghanistan, Zahra (age 11) and Abdul (age 16).* Zahra came to the U.S. alone, spending nearly seven months in LIRS care as she awaited reunification with her family. While in our care, she received counseling to help process separation anxiety and feelings about leaving Afghanistan and adjusting to the United States, in addition to engaging in educational and cultural activities.

Abdul also arrived in the U.S. as an unaccompanied child. The events he witnessed in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover traumatized him, and he came to an LIRS mental health program in January 2022 following a stay in a residential treatment center.

LIRS was able to offer therapeutic services to meet Abdul’s mental health needs. Right away, his clinician worked with him to develop coping skills and strategies that he has been able to use to self-regulate and avoid self-harm.

With the help of LIRS, Zahra and Abdul were both reunited with their families and are now adjusting well to their new lives.