THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BUFFALO

REFUGEE INTEGRATION - IIB'S RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM ASSISTED 509 ARRIVALS TO BUFFALO IN FY24, ABOVE OUR EXPECTED TOTAL OF 468. ALL ARRIVALS IN THE REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM ARE PROVIDED CORE RESETTLEMENT SERVICES AFTER ARRIVAL. TRAINED INTERPRETERS ARE USED FOR ALL MEETINGS AND TRANSLATED DOCUMENTS ARE PROVIDED IN THE CLIENT'S OWN LANGUAGE. VITAL SERVICES INCLUDED RENTAL AND FOOD ASSISTANCE, CONNECTIONS TO AND ENROLLMENTS IN ALLOWABLE SOCIAL SERVICES, AND HEALTH SCREENINGS. ALL ADULT CLIENTS ARE CONNECTED TO ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING PROGRAMS, WHILE ALL MINOR ARRIVALS ARE ENROLLED IN LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS. ALL ARRIVALS ALSO RECEIVE IMPORTANT COMMUNITY ORIENTATION, LEARNING ABOUT LAWS AND CULTURE, HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS, EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION, AND COMMUNITY SERVICES. THE LARGEST GROUP OF RESETTLED INDIVIDUALS WAS FROM AFGHANISTAN, WITH 188 ARRIVALS, OR 37% OF THE TOTAL. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY MYANMAR (BURMA) WITH 103 (20%), THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO WITH 69 (14%), SYRIA WITH 37 (7%), AND COLOMBIA WITH 28 (6%). OTHER ARRIVALS CAME FROM VENEZUELA, IRAQ, SUDAN, SOMALIA, NICARAGUA, ERITREA, ETHIOPIA, ALGERIA, SRI LANKA, AND PAKISTAN. IIB'S EMPLOYMENT TEAM ASSISTED ALMOST 300 PEOPLE WITH EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE IN FY24. IIB'S MATCH GRANT TEAM WORKED WITH 117 CLIENTS IN FY24, HELPING OVER 60 INDIVIDUALS FIND JOBS IN BUFFALO AND WESTERN NEW YORK. ALMOST 90% OF ENROLLED ADULTS WERE SELF-SUFFICIENT WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF ARRIVAL AND ABLE TO PAY ALL BILLS WITHOUT EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE. IIB'S RSSP/BRIA EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM HELPED 54 INDIVIDUALS FIND JOBS IN FY24, OF WHICH 50 ACHIEVED SELF-SUFFICIENCY WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF STARTING WORK. IIB ALSO CREATED AND MANAGED TWO PROGRAMS FOCUSED ON PATHWAYS TO PROFESSIONAL CAREERS - ONE FUNDED BY NEW YORK STATE'S OFFICE OF NEW AMERICANS, AND ONE BY THE OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT. COMBINED, THESE PROGRAMS HELPED OVER 200 PEOPLE IN FY24 BEGIN THEIR JOURNEY TO PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE. OF THESE, OVER 50 PEOPLE WERE PLACED IN JOBS, WITH OVER 30 OF THEM PLACED IN PROFESSIONAL JOBS SIMILAR TO THOSE THEY LEFT BEHIND. ENROLLED CLIENTS INCLUDED ARCHITECTS, NURSES, DENTISTS, ACCOUNTANTS, SOCIAL SERVICE WORKERS, AND THOSE IN SKILLED TRADES. IIB ALSO HOSTED JOB FAIRS WITH LOCAL EMPLOYERS, CREATED AND MANAGED A JOB CLUB FOR JOB SEEKERS BECOME MORE FAMILIAR WITH THE AMERICAN WORKPLACE, INCLUDING WORKING ON RESUMES, JOB INTERVIEWS, AND OPENING BANK ACCOUNTS, AND A CAREER CLUB FOR MORE ADVANCED CANDIDATES. ROUGHLY 20 INDIVIDUALS ENROLLED IN CAREER CLUB WERE ALSO MATCHED WITH PROFESSIONAL MENTORS IN THEIR CHOSEN CAREER FIELD. THE PREFERRED COMMUNITIES PROGRAM WORKED WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE MEDICAL CONCERNS OR OTHER NEEDS THAT COULD PLACE THEM AT RISK IN BUFFALO. THIS INCLUDES PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS, SHORT TERM MEDICAL NEEDS, AND SINGLE MOTHERS. IIB'S LEGAL PROGRAM ASSISTED OVER 50 CLIENTS IN FY24 IN SECURING EMPLOYMENT DOCUMENTS, APPLYING FOR GREEN CARDS, AND SECURING CITIZENSHIP.

INTERPRETING/TRANSLATION SERVICES - PROVIDING TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING SERVICES IN MORE THAN 100 LANGUAGES WITH MORE THAN 200 TRAINED AND CERTIFIED TRANSLATORS AND QUALIFIED INTERPRETERS. SERVICES BEING PROVIDED TO LEGAL AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, CORPORATIONS, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCIES, INDIVIDUALS, AND MORE.