The Reception and Integration Department at the IRC in San Diego

The Reception and Integration Department at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in San Diego is dedicated to providing holistic, trauma-informed, wrap-around services for newcomers who have experienced forced displacement. Our programs support asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrant families through comprehensive case management, resource navigation, and women's empowerment initiatives, helping them achieve health, wellness, and self-sufficiency. 

Our Programs: 

Case Management  

• Refugee Resettlement: Caseworkers receive clients from the airport and assist for 90 days with housing arrangement, home visits, applying for public benefits, social security, employment authorization, school enrolment for children, English language learning for adults, employment services, and refugee health screening. Caseworkers work with clients to create family budgets and service plans for each family member.
• Asylum Seeking Families (ASF) Program: The ASF team provides comprehensive case management to San Diego’s most vulnerable individuals and families seeking asylum who arrived through the Southern U.S. border. Over 3-8 months, ASF caseworkers help asylum-seekers meet their basic needs through an individualized service plan addressing goals such as legal representation, public benefits enrollment, safe housing, school enrollment, safety plans, Know Your Rights orientations, public transportation orientation, and appointment accompaniment.
• Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Initial Resettlement Services (OIRS): A 90-day case management program tailored for ORR-eligible populations, such as Ukrainians granted Humanitarian Parole and Cuban and Haitian entrants. ​OIRS aims to connect individuals to public benefits, orientation to their rights, safe housing referrals, legal services, employment services, school enrollment, safety planning, public transportation, and assistance in achieving goals identified in individualized support plans.
• Afghan Newcomers Support Program (ANSP): This program provides post-arrival services with a focus on individualized resource navigation for ORR-eligible Afghans, including individuals with Humanitarian Parole and Special Immigrant Visas (SIV). Services include case management, financial literacy, and Maternal Support Groups for Afghan Women.  

Core Services for case management Programs: 

• Development of individualized support plans​
• Public benefits assistance​
• School enrollment​
• Healthcare navigation​
• Referral to legal representation
• Cultural orientation​ and Know Your Rights orientations
• Housing navigation and referrals​
• Public transportation orientation​ 

Women's Resilience Center (WRC): 

The WRC is a safe, collaborative space where the diverse needs of all women and girls are respected. Co-created with the women it serves; the center offers activities designed to combat social isolation and address the lasting impacts of trauma and forced migration.  

Healthcare Navigation Program: 

Serving ORR-eligible Refugees, Afghans, and Haitian and Cuban entrants who have been in the U.S. for less than five years, this program provides:​ 

• Development of care plans to meet healthcare goals​
• Medical insurance enrollment assistance​
• Referrals to the Refugee Health Assessment Program​
• Creating a personalized care plan with health goals 
• Medical insurance enrollment and selecting a primary care provider
• Training on using Medi-Cal and scheduling medical transportation
• Help scheduling vaccination appointments for school-aged children
• Access to health and wellness resources
• Mental health referrals
• Monthly wellness groups and health education workshops 

Refer clients to Reception and Integration programs by emailing SDwellness@rescue.org.