The US Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday March 13th that I-94 cards of Ukrainians paroled into the US before the launch of the U4U program (between 2/24/22-4/25/22) will be automatically considered for a one-year renewal. No action is required for this consideration, but they encourage individuals to check weekly for an updated digital I-94 card. This means continued eligibility for some government programs as well as work permits.

We encourage you to contact FIRM by the end of April for help if your parole has not been automatically extended or if you are having trouble finding the digital I-94 cards. We are here to help!

Since 1994, FIRM has operated as a faith-based non-profit providing wraparound services that include health navigation, community gardens, and community organizing to the more than 10,000 refugees in the Fresno area of the California San Joaquin Valley. As one of the country’s most unique interdenominational refugee agencies, we are now proud to call ourselves a local refugee resettlement agency! We are now a local affiliate of Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC). FIRM will welcome our new neighbors by picking them up from the airport and providing housing assistance, cultural orientation, and one-on-one case management to each family for the first 90 days. 

ECDC has seven branch offices and 17 affiliates, which operate in 24 refugee resettlement sites across the U.S. “In its endeavor to expand its reach to be able to welcome our new neighbors in these parts of our country, ECDC is pleased to partner with FIRM and rely on its remarkable track record of building communities,” said Tsehaye Teferra, CEO and President of ECDC. ECDC has resettled over 66,000 refugees across the United States thus far.

FIRM is excited to further build “communities of hope with New Americans” with our new Reception and Placement program. Our first family under this program will arrive in March. We anticipate receiving between 20 and 30 families this year, mostly former US-allies from Afghanistan or Iraq and families from Ukraine and Syria with relatives waiting for them in Fresno.

You can help by:

1. Donating to FIRM!
2. Providing gift cards for food, household items, furniture, and other supplies
3. Quality clothing donation
4. Bicycles, bus tokens, and car seats
5. Housing leads of managers who are willing to rent to newcomers

Please follow our Facebook and Instagram, and check back on our website for further updates.

On the anniversary of the Russian military’s full-scale illegal invasion of Ukraine, we remember the fear and heartbreak felt by Ukrainian citizens who are now faced with the devastation of their home country. Millions have since fled Ukraine to other countries around the world, their exodus marking the largest refugee crisis since World War II. 

Although the Biden Administration declared its commitment to welcoming 100,000 Ukrainians into the United States following the invasion, the federal government offered no formal assistance. The Slavic community, churches, and FIRM staff offered aid and support to the thousands of Ukrainian refugees who flew to the U.S.-Mexico border in the hopes of being granted humanitarian parole. 

Dozens of Ukrainian families, mostly grandparents, women, and children now reside in Fresno. FIRM staff have worked tirelessly to meet the needs of the new arrivals over the last year, providing transportation, housing assistance, translation services, and more. Still, the largest obstacles for Ukrainians in Fresno continue to be language barriers, obtaining stable housing, and reliable transportation. 

However, many of those currently living in Fresno who arrived between April 11th and the launch of Uniting for Ukraine on April 24th are in jeopardy of losing their status. They were paroled into the country for only one year, while those who came to the U.S. after April 24th, 2022 under Uniting for Ukraine were granted a two-year humanitarian parole. This 12-day gap leaves those who entered during that time period with no legal pathway forward for continued legal residence in America. Those who arrived before April 19th are able to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) which would continue to allow them to work and would protect them from deportation for an additional year. There is no current pathway for permanent status once these protections ends. 

While President Biden announced sanctions on Russia and additional military aid for Ukraine on the anniversary of the illegal invasion, there is still no word on what will happen to the refugees in the United States once their status expires.  

The federal government must extend the parole status of the Ukrainian refugees that arrived one year ago, unilaterally, and provide a clear path forward for the refugees who wish to continue their lives in the United States. 

You can help by:

• Providing Gift Cards and working bicycles to FIRM
• Prayers for Ukraine and Ukrainians displaced across the worl;d 
• Please follow our Facebook and Instagram and check back on our website for further updates.

Are you passionate about welcoming refugees and inviting others to join in? Do you enjoy meeting new people, presenting information, and creatively creating new partnerships? We are hiring for a new position (Community Partnership Coordinator) to help us welcome Ukrainians, Afghans and refugees from all around the world to Fresno. If you’re interested, please send us your resume and a cover letter through the Indeed portal. Interviews are starting soon!

Update: We are currently setting up interviews for applicants for the Office Manager position previously posted on Indeed.

As we close out the year, I wanted to share a quick list of 22 of our accomplishments in 2022.

1. We invested in our facilities: a new paint job on the main building, new signs, four new bathrooms, and new flooring on the upstairs veranda and in the Literacy room. Our community room has beautiful freshly assembled dividers, desks, file cabinets and is ready for us to serve more clients.
2. Over 1,600 people received a vaccine at FIRM this year
3. We continue to host the longest running COVID-19 vaccination site in Fresno County. A few exceptional events include: 147 vaccines at our VA58 September event and 109 vaccines at our Christmas Photo Shoot event. 
4. We shared over 10,000 free rapid home tests with the community
5. We welcomed over 200 Ukrainians to Fresno since March of 2022
6. We helped over 50 people become citizens 
7. Our weekly and monthly in-language TV and radio programs were viewed over 20,000 times on Facebook and YouTube.
8. We now have THREE HUD CERTIFIED HOUSING COUNSELORS who provided 768 hours of one-on-one housing counseling to 219 different clients.
9. We hosted a delicious and beautiful Iftar event in April
10. We helped four Cuban asylum seekers get the refugee benefits they are eligible for
11. We awarded the Neng Thao Scholarship to Reanah Sang, a Khmer-American Central East graduate who attends UCLA.
12. We celebrated World Refugee Day for the first time in June, complete with triple digit heat, dancing to dabke drums, Hmong dancers, Slavic songs, henna art, dozens of partner organizations, great raffle prizes, and three food trucks.
13. We hosted almost 1000 attendees for our Halloween event, which included a housing counseling-themed haunted house, complete with useful information about the help we provide so you don’t have to be scared of evictions or foreclosures. 
14. We distributed 200 vegetable boxes from ABIRC with roughly a week of planning, after hosting 100 different people for a cooked Thanksgiving feast three days before. 
15. We picked our 1100 toys from Toys for Tots, recruited a dozen+ volunteers, wrapped every gift, and distributed them prepackaged by family, all in the span of four days.
16. We invested in team building during our staff days: visiting the River Center, hiking to a waterfall, playing volleyball, learning Google Drive tricks, logic models, StrengthsFinder, DSS, forms, trauma and more.
17. We successfully passed our first ever federal single audit without any findings
18. We hired a full time internal Finance and Operations Director, Yaomee Xiong
19. We’ve grown to be a $2 million dollar/year organization that ends the year comfortably in the black. 
20. We also welcomed to the team: Hafiz Ranjbar, Bee Lor, Chuya Moua and Tony Bounthapanya Jr. We welcomed Abeer Qasem and Julie Thao back to the FIRMunity!
21. We were approved to start refugee resettlement in FY23 in partnership with ECDC USA, and found out about it while visiting ECDC in October.
22. We marched in the 2022 Hmong New Year Parade as a team.

We trust in our FIRM foundation that we will meet the challenges that 2023 may bring with the strength, love, hope and joy that we cultivated this year. We always appreciate your encouraging notes, physical item donations and online gifts. Thank you for being part of the FIRMunity. ?????/Dyakuyu. Ua Tsaug. Shukran/????. Gracias. ?????/Kop Jai. ??????.

Reporting to: Finance and Operations Director 

Salary: $15/hr 

Hours: Part-time – 12-15 hours/week before or after office hours

Location: FIRM Campus 

Summary Description:

The janitor position is responsible for executing cleaning tasks, emptying trash, sanitizing door handles and commonly touched surfaces throughout the FIRM campus. 

Key Responsibilities & Duties:

• Perform all cleaning and routine maintenance duties for FIRM’s main building, campus, and the Stanley-Rea Center inside and outside Monday through Friday
• Will be responsible for disarming and arming FIRM’s security system
• Replenish cleaning supplies and equipment when needed 
• Request more supplies to be purchased when needed
• Set up or tear down chairs or tables as needed
• Deep clean FIRM refrigerator as needed

Qualifications:

• Trustworthy and responsible
• Previous experience providing quality janitorial services
• Ability to lift 30 pounds
• Good verbal communication when more supplies are needed
• Reliable method of transportation to work site 

To apply:

Please call FIRM (559) 487-1500 to express your interest in the position before 10/24/2022 for priority consideration. Our admin assistant will conduct initial screening and qualified candidates will be invited for a brief interview.

1. Our Wednesday clinic is still going strong! Thanks to USCF Fresno CEP, attendees are now able to receive blood pressure and blood sugar screenings. We are open every Wednesday from 1pm to 5pm at the Sharon Stanley-Rea Center.
2. We are still looking for host families to host Ukrainian arrivals as they wait for work permits and more permanent housing. If you have a room or unit to spare, please fill out this form and we will be in touch.
3. World Refugee Day is around the corner. FIRM will be hosting a World Refugee Day celebration on Wednesday June 22nd, and we’d love to have you join us. If you’re interested in volunteering, tabling or sponsoring, please reach out.
4. Our housing counseling team has grown! We are excited that we have three staff currently studying to become HUD certified counselors, and five of us were able to attend the recent NeighborWorks Training Institute in Los Angeles, to learn even more about how to better help our community.
5. FIRM was featured in a recent blog by the Urban Institute, highlighting our amazing Community Health Workers and our COVID-19 Response.
6. On May 28th, we will honor the next Neng Thao Memorial Scholar, in preparation for Sunday the 29th, which is Neng Thao Day.

Over the past few weeks, thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine have come to California through the border with Mexico, in response to President Biden’s announcement of support for 100,000 Ukrainians to come to the US as refugees. No other pathway has been announced, so families are flying to Mexico and entering the US with a temporary humanitarian parole status. Dozens of families have already arrived in Fresno, and more are coming every day. It is primarily grandparents, women and children who have been able to flee.

Ukrainians who have fled the war are being given humanitarian parole in order to be allowed to legally enter the US, but there are no federal resources currently available for them. As we wait for guidance and resources from the government, we know that families can’t wait. We also know that it takes a community to welcome a refugee. Fresno’s Slavic community and Slavic churches have been a key part of FIRM since we were founded in 1994. FIRM staff have gone to the border to provide support using their vacation time, and we are supporting the individuals and families who have just arrived to Fresno. We need your help.

Here’s how you can help:

1. Gift cards for food and other household supplies (FoodMaxx, WalMart, Visa, Target, etc.)
2. Volunteers who speak Ukrainian or Russian to provide transportation and/or translation
3. Bicycles, bus tokens and car seats
4. Housing
5. Prayers

Gift cards of any denomination can be dropped off or mailed to FIRM and will be distributed to families already in Fresno according to family size. Gift cards are preferred to food, given storage limits. You can also donate to FIRM.

Volunteers who can help provide translation and transportation are greatly needed to help families fill out applications, attend appointments and understand their next steps. To volunteer with FIRM, please email Salim(at)firminc.org.

The primary physical goods that we are asking for at this time are: bicycles for transportation, bus tokens and car seats. Given that many families are doubled and tripled up, space is at a premium until the work authorization or other benefits get approved. Please drop donations of bikes, car seats or bus tokens off at FIRM Monday through Friday 8:30am to 5pm.

Housing is needed. If you have a spare room or rooms or unit that you would be willing to share for a very low cost, there are many families who are in need. Please fill out this form if you would be willing to share. Background checks will be conducted before connecting anyone with a refugee family.

Lastly, please pray for Ukraine, for a true peace that respects borders, for the families fleeing war, for the families stuck in a warzone without a way to flee, for the healing of all the trauma that has been already experienced, and for clear pathways forward for families hoping to be reunited with loved ones and to find safety. Pray for FIRM’s staff as we seek to help and bring hope, for the Slavic churches offering refuge throughout the world, and for each of our communities to choose to be more welcoming every day.

FIRM is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and so all donations are tax-deductible. Please follow our Facebook, Instagram and check back on our website for further updates as the situation evolves.

To honor and remember Neng‘s legacy of service, advocacy, and leadership, the Thao family set up an annual scholarship in his name through FIRM. This will be the fifth year in which this scholarship will be awarded to a young person from the Central Valley who exemplifies Neng’s service to the community and academic excellence. The scholarship will be awarded at a special ceremony at FIRM on Neng Thao Day, Sunday, May 29, 2022. You can donate to support the scholarship here.

All first-time freshmen who are from the Central Valley and are dedicated to serving and strengthening the Southeast Asian Community are encouraged to apply. The scholarship form can be accessed here and must be submitted by 11:59PM on April 30th, 2022. To prepare for the application, please submit an unofficial copy of your high school transcript to [email protected] and draft 300-word responses to the following questions. We encourage applicants to write their responses elsewhere first because the Google Form doesn’t save until you submit.

Why is education important to you? (300 word maximum)

Tell us about your involvement in advocacy and/or leadership in the community. Why are you involved in these types of activities? (300 word maximum)

What do you see yourself doing in 10 – 15 years? (300 word maximum)

How will this scholarship help you pursue your goals. (300 word maximum)

All applications will be judged blindly by a panel of family members, FIRM staff, and community partners. We look forward to celebrating the leadership, passion and vision of our future leaders at this year’s ceremony. Please encourage any first-time incoming freshmen in your life to apply.

As FIRM continues to grow, we are excited to announce that we are looking for a full-time Director of Finance and Operations. The Director of Finance and Operations will work closely with the Executive Director to ensure that FIRM programs have the resources, infrastructure and policies necessary to successfully serve the community. The ideal candidate will have experience with budgeting, QuickBooks, nonprofit accounting, operations, HR and change management. The position is full-time salaried with benefits, to be based primarily at the FIRM office.

For more information, please visit our job posting on Indeed.com. To apply, please upload a cover letter and resume to the Indeed.com posting. Initial review of applications will begin March 4th.

FIRM is a thriving organization that is deeply trusted by refugee community members and a network of supporters throughout the US. Our organizational values include: Service, Hard Work, Belonging, Learning, Faith, Hope and Love. The vast majority of our staff came to the US as refugees, or are first-generation to be born here, and all staff speak a language other than English fluently (9 languages other than English and counting!).

Incorporated as a faith-based nonprofit in 1994, FIRM does not discriminate against any protected class in our programs, hiring, or promotion. FIRM is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

Come join the #FIRMunity and help us grow even stronger. If you know someone who would be a great fit, please send them our way!