Our Impact & Deliverables California

Elevating Lives, Empowering Futures

Lifting Humanity is the first official Refugee Resettlement Affiliate Site for Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) in San Bernardino County, California. Our office is located in the city of Ontario, California.

Our Impact

Refugee Reception & Replacement

Lifting Humanity, an affiliate of IRUSA and IRC, is the first Resettlement Agency site in San Bernardino County. Lifting Humanity, welcomed 79 new Refugees and 8 SIVs in the months of May to to September 30th, 2024 – end of fiscal year 2024. We are scheduled to resettle 100 refugees and 50 SIVs into San Bernardino County starting October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025.

According to California Immigrant Data Portal, California remains one of the top states for refugee arrivals and is home to 23% of immigrants in the U.S., which accounts for 27% of the nation’s SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) population and 7% of its refugee population. The top countries of origin for these refugees are Afghanistan, and Syria. Although San Bernardino is not one of the most refugee-impacted counties in California, it has recently become an overflow county to all those counties, especially, Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange. Most resettlement agencies have been resettling refugees in the Inland Empire area, which includes the counties of San Bernardino and Riverside. This is primarily due to the shortage and cost of housing.

Lifting Humanity, with its partner organizations, has been able to resettle these families in the Inland Empire. Some of these services include:

Picking up families from the airport
Placing them in temporary housing
Providing Cultural Orientation
Finding permanent housing via low-income housing and section-8 housing
Furnishing their homes
Providing groceries and food boxes
Providing bicycles, bus passes, and other transportation services
Enrolling children in schools and adults in ESL classes
Enrolling in benefits (Medi-Cal, Cal-Fresh, Refugee Cash Assistance, WIC)
Finding employment
And all other services needed in their resettlement into their new home in California.

According to UNESCO, for more than 265 million children around the world, education is only a dream. Poverty remains one of the most significant factors that hinder access to quality education. Countries with the highest out-of-school rate are also among the poorest countries in the world.

During our inaugural year, we collaborated with various universities and institutes of higher education in Afghanistan to secure full scholarships, partial scholarships, and tuition waivers for the university students.

This agreement lasted four years, from 2015 to 2019, and assisted numerous students, who otherwise would have not had the chance to attend the university in achieving their educational ambitions. Additionally, the organization donated two-thousand books to students of all ages in Afghanistan, and academic books to various libraries and universities in Afghanistan.

Unaccompanied Youth Program

Lifting Humanity’s Unaccompanied Youth (UAY) Program is offered to those youth who enter the United Stated without any parents or other family members. These UAY would have entered the US after being seventeen years old, and prior to their eighteenth birthday. The UAY reside in various shelters throughout California, and upon turning their 18th birthday, with no viable sponsor, host home or specialized program, these youth are placed in homeless shelters. They are especially at risk since the majority of them do not speak English and have no family or community to depend on for their basic supportive services. Some lucky ones are taken by selfless individuals in their homes and offered support.

Lifting Humanity’s mentorship program is the bridge for these UAY, their new community and life in the US. Lifting Humanity case management services focuses on finding housing, host homes, assisting with rent, clothing, household items and furniture, food, mentorship, cultural orientation, community engagement, school enrollment, finding a job, and more. With the help of a grant from Islamic Relief USA, and a matching grant from a few Anonymous Donors, we are helping youth stand on their feet as they start their new life in the U.S.

Lifting Humanity collaborates with the various shelters in finding housing for UAY prior to their discharge from the shelter. Lifting Humanity staff and volunteers are the “big brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles for these youth. These individuals are the closest to a family these youth have in the US.

The Objectives of the UAY Program is:

To provide safe and stable housing for unaccompanied youth upon their transition from the shelters to independent living.
To reduce the risk of homelessness and housing instability among emancipated youth.
To empower youth by connecting them with supportive, educational, employment and community resources and services.
Currently Lifting Humanity is assisting fifteen youth with case management and supportive services, five of whom are receiving monthly rental assistance. With the help of the The Community Impact Fund (TCIF), starting October 1, 2024, Lifting Humanity is providing more in depth mentorship and community integration to these youth.

Beyond case management and housing support, Lifting Humanity extends its care through meaningful community programming and direct service. Through the Unaccompanied Youth Program, Lifting Humanity has provided food, clothing, and gifts to Afghan and other children residing in shelters throughout Southern California, and to those who have been released from shelters into independent living. During Eid celebrations, Lifting Humanity collaborated with partner organizations to offer ethnic clothing, food, gifts, and activities to over two hundred children across various shelters, honoring their cultural identity and fostering a sense of belonging in their new home. Additionally, through an annual holiday collaboration with local Foster Family Agencies in the Inland Empire, Lifting Humanity provides holiday gifts and food boxes to foster children and families, extending its circle of care beyond the UAY population and into the wider community of vulnerable youth in Southern California.

Employment Readiness Program

The California Department of Public Health has awarded Lifting Humanity with the Refugee Health Promotion Project (RHPP) and Afghan Refugee Heath (AHP) Supplement program starting October 1, 2024. Health services are provided to participants whose needs extend beyond the scope of our Reception & Placement Program during their first 90 days of resettlement in the U.S., as well as those who require ongoing support beyond the initial 90 days and up to five years after their arrival. These services are prioritized for participants who have the most persistent, urgent, or underserved health needs. The Health Navigator provides comprehensive support, including triage, a psychosocial assessment, and a personalized plan of care with appropriate services and referrals. Participants are offered both individualized and group classes and activities.

Services for Trauma Affected Refugees (STAR) Program

Lifting Humanity has been awarded the Services for Trauma Affected Refugee (STAR) program from the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

As of October 1, 2024, Lifting Humanity has offered mental health assessment and B to newly arrived refugees and other ORR eligible newcomers as they become contributing members of their new community. Lifting Humanity’s STAR program staff (Clinicians, Case Manager, Community & Cultural Liaison, and Community Health Workers) will serve refugees (Refugee, Asylee, Humanitarian Parolee, Cuban/Haitian Entrant, Lawful Permanent Resident with previous qualifying status, Amerasian (Vietnam) immigrant, Iraqi or Afghan Special Immigrant, Afghan Humanitarian Parolee, Afghan SQ/SI Parolee, Afghan SI Conditional Permanent Resident, Ukrainian Humanitarian Parole, Victim of Trafficking in Persons) within 5 years of their initial resettlement into the US.

Lifting Humanity ’s STAR program provides age, developmentally, culturally and linguistically appropriate core services to the newly arrived individuals which will include trauma-informed mental health therapy, family strengthening interventions, culturally sensitive training, interpretation and transportation aid, holistic therapeutic programs, and telehealth options, all aimed at fostering the well-being and successful integration of trauma-affected refugees and newcomers.

The objective of the Lifting Humanity’s STAR program is to increase access to appropriate, effective, and holistic trauma assistance and mental health services at individual, group, and family level, taking into account considerations of age and gender of the participants. All of the services are trauma-informed and culturally and linguistically appropriate. These services will assist participants in overcoming barriers to self-sufficiency in areas of home, school, employment, financial insecurity, language acquisition, or social setting. By increasing access to appropriate trauma assistance, mental health services and holistic services, we can tackle the physical, emotional, and social challenges related to unaddressed health issues, and thus further empowering refugees towards self-sufficiency and economic stability.