Relief for Newcomers

Historically, Waterloo is a secondary resettlement site, meaning that refugees and immigrants coming directly into the country migrate here in search of employment and housing opportunities. Since December 2022, we have seen over 275 newcomers to Waterloo - most non-English speaking from Chad, Togo, Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Chile and other countries.

These newcomers’ integration into American life ranges greatly from speaking English and driving to having no English or transportation help. The burden of helping welcome new communities falls on leaders (interpreters) in each ethnic community who often donate full-time hours with no pay. Also, due to the transportation and language barriers, getting everything needed to set up a home is difficult.

We are launching Neighbors to Newcomers, designed to provide wrap-around community support to ethnic leaders & newcomers while engaging the greater Cedar Valley community in providing support. Our relief is a temporary solution to welcome ethnic newcomers to Waterloo and support hard-working ethnic community leaders. 

869

Cases
served 

46

newcomers housed in Supportive housing program

50

states supporting Life Garden Project

21

Gardens
built for community use
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