IMMIGRANT WELCOME CENTER INC
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Mission Statement
The Immigrant Welcome Center (IWC) empowers immigrants by connecting them to the people, places, and resources that enable them to build successful lives and enrich our community.
About This Cause
We think about our work as being in 3 areas: Immigrant Integration, Collective Impact and Community Development. Through working across these three areas, we are providing unique, direct assistance to immigrants as well as addressing systemic challenges, including systemic racism. IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION Through this work we provide assistance across the span of the integration process. Information Sharing: As with everyone, immigrants will not access services that they do not know about or do not trust. We invest in having a deep understanding about resources and matters important for immigrants and being about to share those in meaningful ways. Our scope of information monitored and shared ranges from food pantries to attorneys to understanding a curfew. Our primary channel for getting information disseminated is through our Natural Helpers who are immigrants themselves. We also staff a Help Line and are increasing our capability to share information online. Naturalization Support: Through our partnership with CitizenshipWorks, individuals pursuing naturalization receive assistance completing their N-400 form and have a free review of their application by an attorney. We also hold citizenship classes both remotely and in-person (based on community health). In the recent past, we have also partnered with legal providers to hold traditional naturalization clinics. Advanced Integration: These opportunities include voter registration and education, census participation, and developing one's capacity for self-advocacy. COLLECTIVE IMPACT IWC holds an important role in the Indianapolis community providing training and development for other agencies who assist immigrants. We want to elevate the capacity for immigrants to receive robust support through many providers. We do this through regular convening of providers for education and connection, as well as distinct consulting for individual agencies in order to address their specific interests. We are currently in regular contact with approximately 100 other service providers ranging from community centers to cultural organizations. A unique project in this area is our Adult ELL Pathways to Literacy initiative through which we are building the technical capabilities of 30+ English Language Learning providers (80+ instructors). COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IWC is committed to making Indianapolis a fully welcoming city where immigrants can thrive. This means addressing systemic issues and building a community where differences are recognized and celebrated. Toward that end, we hold Navigating Culture & Bias workshops that prompt participants to build their awareness and sensitivity to different cultures, regularly interact with elected officials and funders in order to keep them apprised of the immigrant experience and what systemic changes would be meaningful. We also work closely with elected officials, policy makers and philanthropy leaders in order to keep immigrants interests in their thinking and to work toward systemic reforms.