Strategic partnership helps refugees

In an innovative partnership, three local refugee-serving organizations are working smarter together. Catholic Charities of Atlanta, International Rescue Committee and New American Pathways all serve international refugees coming to Atlanta, but with wide differences in approach and programmatic focus. However, each organization faces common logistical challenges tied to housing, securing in-kind donations and transportation.

With recent federal funding cutbacks, the three organizations were all faced with eliminating staff and logistical services – instead, they made the innovative decision to collaborate and combine them with the assistance of a strategic restructuring grant from the Community Foundation.

Now, the organizations partner on services and share key logistical staff and a comprehensive database of clients that tracks how families flow from one service to another. They even have a shared space for in-kind donations like coats, cookware and couches, with the donated items managed in a more efficient way, making them better stewards of resources.

The efficiency is felt by their clients through better, more holistic services. This year, the three organizations partnered to settle close to 1,000 refugees in Atlanta, with a focus on the city of Clarkston, and the new efficiencies will allow them to double that number in future years.

“I wonder now why we didn’t think about this before,” says Paedia Mixon, CEO of New American Pathways. “There is such possibility in working together. To me, the most exciting thing is that we can spend more time with our clients to make that first experience in the United States solid and supportive.”

“Can you imagine what it is like to come into a country where you don’t know the language and don’t know anyone? Perhaps everything your family of four has is in two suitcases. In six months you are expected to be working and paying your own bills with your kids in school. Think about how overwhelming that would be. That’s where New American Pathways comes in. They have someone who speaks their language who can help them navigate this new place.” – Paedia Mixon, CEO of New American Pathways

This story was originally published in The Giving Life.