Refugee Assistance Program

The mission of the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) Refugee Assistance Program (RAP) is to create social support networks of volunteer mentors, teachers, and friends for recently resettled refugees in the greater Washington, DC area.  These relationships are integral to providing survivors of oppression, war, and political violence with assistance to build new lives in the United States.  YPFP RAP volunteers engage directly with refugees, exerting a substantial impact on their lives and in the process gaining meaningful professional exposure and experience.  In addition, RAP serves to educate the broader YPFP community about topics related to refugees, human rights, and immigration.

Since October 2007, RAP has welcomed hundreds of refugees from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Guinea, India, Iran, Iraq, Mexico, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and more. RAP currently includes approximately 100 participants in the Washington, DC area.

If you are interested in volunteering, please click here to apply!

RAP Partners

Since 2007, the Refugee Assistance Program has partnered with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), one of the world's leading international relief agencies and one of the largest refugee resettlement agencies in the United States. If a refugee family is part of the U.S. Department of State's matching grant program, the IRC receives $54 from the Department for every hour RAP participants volunteer, and the grant goes back to the family. This matching grant is extremely important, as the IRC only receives limited funds to rent and furnish an apartment and support a given family for its first months. 

In addition, since October 2008, RAP has partnered with the List Project to provide much-needed support to Iraqi families who are imperiled due to their involvement with the United States in Iraq and have sought protection in the greater Washington, DC area. (To find out how to help Iraqi refugees in another region, visit www.netroots.thelistproject.org.) 

In February 2009, RAP formed its third partnership, with Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area. Since the 1970s influx of refugees fleeing the Vietnam war, LSS/NCA has based its refugee resettlement services on a model of community and faith group sponsorship. Through the decades, the Refugee and Immigrant Services (RIS) program has provided a variety of case management and employment services to over ten thousand refugees in the National Capital Area and Baltimore region.

Finally, RAP is happy to announce that as of October 2010 we are partners with the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) at Yale Law School. IRAP is a student-founded, student-led, and student-driven organization dedicated to aiding those forced from their homes by the Iraq War. IRAP represents Iraqi refugees seeking resettlement in the United States and Europe; provides direct assistance to Iraqis struggling to make new homes in the United States; and engages political leaders, government agencies, and international organizations on behalf of displaced Iraqis.

RAP Leadership

Arielle Eirienne is the director of the Refugee Assistance Program and has previously served as associate director and communications manager. She has directly mentored three Iraqi families and one Congolese, and she especially values the relationships she's developed with her adorable refugee children! A 2006-07 U.S.-Canada Fulbright Fellow, she earned her M.A. in international affairs from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada and also holds a B.A. in sociology. She welcomes your questions  at arielle.eirienne@ypfp.org.

Caryn Gay is RAP's associate director.  She first became interested in working with refugees when she taught English at a UNHCR refugee camp while serving overseas with the Peace Corps in Romania.  She has a B.A. in English literature from California State University, Los Angeles, and is currently working with a non-profit that provides direct services to Vietnamese immigrants and refugees.  Caryn can be reached at caryn.gay@ypfp.org.

Alex Zbrozek is RAP's communications manager. He earned a B.S. in foreign service and a certificate in Arab studies from Georgetown University in Washington, DC and currently works in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State. He can be reached at alex.zbrozek@ypfp.org.

Stephanie King is RAP's volunteer intake coordinator.  She has a B.A. in international affairs from the University of Georgia and currently works for a large international law firm.  Stephanie has been a member of YPFP since April 2008 and enjoys being able to serve the refugee population of DC through her volunteer work with RAP.  Stephanie can be reached at stephanie.king@ypfp.org.

For more information about the Refugee Assistance Program, please contact refugees@ypfp.org.

YPFP Refugee Assistance Program on Facebook

Also check out our wiki resource base: http://ypfp-rap-bestpractices.wetpaint.com/.

Media

Refugee Resettlement: Mentoring Refugees a Rewarding Experience (Safe Haven Immigration Law Blog, October 2010)

A Refugee Perspective (The Wire, October 2009)

Review: "What it's like to be a refugee in America" (YPFP, September 2009)

Going Strong and Still Growing (The Wire, March 2009)

Human Rights Face-to-Face (The Wire, April 2008)