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The Jewish community understands what it is like to leave one’s home and resettle in a foreign land. That historic experience fuels our desire to help refugees and immigrants make a successful transition to self-sufficiency. Our culturally diverse staff is recruited directly from the communities we serve.
Contact us at ris@jfsseattle.org or by phone.
South King County Office: (253) 850-4065
Your support is urgently needed for families arriving from countries throughout the world.
JFS works with HIAS, formerly the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, to resettle refugees assigned by the U.S. Department of State. We provide a required set of services from pre-arrival through the first 90 days of the resettlement period. But, our work with our new neighbors extends far beyond that initial three-month period, from Day 91 through citizenship. JFS provides holistic case management and education services to helps refugees, immigrants and asylees to become economically, socially and civically integrated in our community.
A Welcome Circle (also called community sponsorship) is a group of individuals who provide financial, resettlement, and emotional support to newcomers for six months until they reach self-sufficiency. Circles can form as part of a synagogue, organization, community center, or other faith or interfaith community, or they can be made up of private individuals.
Most circles have 5-8 core members who lead on different tasks, such as finding housing, signing up for benefits, helping enroll children in school, and assisting adults with job readiness and employment.
If you are interested in forming a Welcome Circle, please visit HIAS for more details.
If you are already a part of a Welcome Circle, while JFS is unable to provide overarching support to individuals and community groups who have formed Welcome Circles, we are available to provide employment services for eligible individuals referred to JFS through DSHS’ Limited English Proficiency Pathway Program. We also encourage you to explore the many local resources available to support refugees in our region.