Refugees Helping Refugees (RHR)

Refugees Helping Refugees (RHR), is a non-profit community agency serving the Rochester refugee community. Our mission is to foster the growth, determination, and self-reliance of all refugees by making them agents of their own advancement. We pick up where refugee resettlement agencies must leave off. We offer English language classes, case management, cooking, sewing and health education classes, help with job placement and the warm embrace of refugees who have already lived through the whole process. We are the only organization in Rochester run by refugees for refugees, and our services are free. We were founded in 2002 by a four Somalis who provided tutoring and case management our of their homes to assist fellow refugees. Today we are a comprehensive community center serving refugees from all over the world. Our programs include case management, ESOL and health classes, and a college prep program for our young refugee students. We also provide a county-accredited work experience program (WEP) with data entry, health, cooking, and sewing classes, in collaboration with RochesterWorks. In 2015, we changed our name to Refugees Helping Refugees to reflect our broadened constituency. We serve around 300 individuals every year from more than 20 countries. Our volunteers visit needy refugees at home and advocate for them at school, in the hospital, and at county offices. We meet them at the airport when they arrive from refugee camps. Later we provide education and training to help them become successfully integrated members of this community. We collaborate with partners from the University of Rochester, Nazareth and St John Fisher Colleges, the RCSD/OACES, Catholic Family Center, FoodLink, Keeping Our Promise, Literacy Rochester, LifeSpan, RCORR, HCR, the YMCA, Empire Justice, Mary's Place, Jordan Health Center, city and county agencies, and many other entities. Every year, several hundred new refugees arrive in Rochester. Many have very limited English language proficiency and mainstream programs and services are not accessible to them. As an organization created, run, and staffed by people of refugee background, we deliver programs and services for the refugee community in a supportive and culturally sensitive environment. With your help, we will sustain our work and continue to welcome these new Americans, providing the opportunities and support they need to thrive.

We focus on: Human Services

Where we are: Monroe