Changing the city where you will live, or even state to reside is not a straightforward task. It makes it harder to integrate into the community or find a job and go to school if you don’t speak the language and you don’t get the additional support.
Because of rich immigration history, people in Cleveland know how to cherish national diversity and many immigration nonprofits are established there.
From supporting, educational activities, to advocacy, and legal work, these 10 organizations highlighted below are ensuring that immigrant rights are respected in Cleveland and Ohio.
Building Hope in the City
Building Hope in the City is a non-profit Christian mission organization founded in August 2003. Focusing on the renewal of urban Cleveland, it brings together local congregations and volunteers with the many people it serves. Their mission is to foster relationships and encourage personal and community transformation.
Its programs and initiatives are directed towards:
- Building the capacity of faith leaders;
- Community development;
- Affordable housing;
- Refugee and immigrant integration
- Social enterprise business ventures
Catholic Charities
As one of the most significant comprehensive health and human services organizations in the region, Catholic Charities delivers over 150 services at 60 locations to more than 400,000 individuals each year.
Catholic Charities provides aid and creates hope for people of every race and religion throughout the eight counties: Ashland, Geauga, Lake, Cuyahoga, Lorain, Summit, Medina, and Wayne.
The organization provides the following service: Family and Community Services, Persons with Disabilities, Emergency and Specialized Services, Elderly and Chronically Ill, and Treatment, Prevention, Recovery Services, Parish Outreach, and Social Justice.
Asian Services in Action
Asian Services In Action is the largest agency that provides services related to health and human and serving the Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) community of Northeast Ohio. Asian Services In Action runs two federally qualified health centers:
1. In Cleveland
2. In Akron
These centers are specialized in linguistically and culturally competent care for immigrants and refugees.
The US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
The US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants was established almost 100 years ago to advance the rights and lives of people who have been forcibly or voluntarily removed. They strive to make the lives of immigrants, refugees, and uprooted people dignified to ensure their rights are respected and protected.
International Institute of Akron
International Institute of Akron is a leading organization in the ever-expanding international community in Summit County, Ohio. This organization act toward contributing to the community’s well-being.
The goals are to achieve by creating and implementing diverse programs and services assisting people born outside the United States, but decided to move here, and support their integration into American society.
By promoting public awareness of the value of ethnic diversity and encouraging international communication, the International Institute of Akron provides services such as educational, employment, legal services for immigrants, interpretation, and translation, social services, etc.
The Spanish American Committee
The Spanish American Committee is the longest-operating Hispanic/Latino Social Services agency in Ohio, serving as the gateway to socioeconomic success for nearly 50 years.
Low-income individuals belonging to the Hispanic community may benefit from opportunities that this organization creates, leading them to self-sufficiency. Serving over 5,500 disadvantaged individuals and families each year, the Spanish American Committee provides opportunities through five programs.
These programs are directed toward providing clients with family support and childcare services, housing education and guidance, financial literacy education and training, employment training and services, and adult education opportunities such as English as a Second Language (ESL) classes and the only Spanish-language GED program in Ohio.
Esperanza
Esperanza’s mission is to improve the academic achievement of Hispanics in Greater Cleveland by supporting students to graduate high school and promote achievements in post-secondary education.
By developing a model of academic and community excellence, Esperanza motivates students to gain and cherish academic achievement, enhance the quality of economic and community life, promote continuity of community through leadership.
- Offering enriched educational services and opportunities
- Providing scholarship assistance
International Services Center of Cleveland
The International Services Center of Cleveland welcomes and historically integrates new Americans as fully engaged citizens of Northeast Ohio.
The organization conducts the program dedicated to the resettlement and employment, including services associated with the resettlement of refugees Also, it provides social services, such as translation and interpretation services; counseling; intergroup relations; community relations.
Hispanic Alliance
As a not-for-profit local Hispanic membership corporation, The Hispanic Alliance defined its mission toward integrating the Hispanic/Latino community. They endeavor to unite, support, and strengthen Hispanic alliance members in greater Cleveland and northern Ohio.
They advocate for the social, educational, and economic development of the Hispanic/Latino community. They have several integrational programs such as Community redevelopment la villa Hispana that is one of the premier community development projects on the west side.
They also created a five-year action plan aiming to strengthen three essential principles: community engagement, economic development, and arts and culture to operate within an agreed-upon framework.
The Hispanic Alliance established the Community engagement center. This is a place that gathers and unites people, a place for education and training courses, by which the organization became recognizable.
Refugee Response
The Refugee Response is a foundation that helps refugees to adjust to life in northeast Ohio. Working to empower the area’s growing newcomer population, especially directed to people who came to Ohio between three months and five years.
The refugee response provides those people with compelling opportunities so they can acquire the skills they need to succeed in their new communities. Newcomers may learn the English language, which is essential to find a job and efficiently integrate into the community, then the basic cultural orientation or they can have the training for employment.
English language classes are meant for both children and adults. The foundation has developed a few programs, and one of them is dedicated to empowering the refugees engaged in agriculture. Also, the foundation provides children home tutoring, since usually the instructions that they get in school are limited due to lack of support.
Contact your immigration lawyer in Cleveland, Ohio should you have any questions and read more information about immigration in Cleveland now.
