In the middle of the night, Ali and his family raced in an ambulance from SeaTac Airport to a team of waiting doctors at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Fleeing the threat of death at the hands of extremists and battling time to save the life of his gravely ill seven-year-old son, Ali had spent the last two and a half years pleading for a chance to leave Iraq, to exchange home for safety. Now, with the support of the Seattle community, Ali and his family begin the journey of rebuilding their lives.

Eight months since borders closed across the Balkan route, leaving tens of thousands stranded across Europe, refugees have no choice but to live in tents and other shelters unsuited for freezing temperatures. The IRC warns that children, the elderly and other vulnerable people may die on European soil this winter unless immediate action is taken.

Refugees and immigrants are some of the most impacted communities of COVID-19, and many newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers have been dealing with stress and isolation. In order to help provide healthy coping mechanisms, the IRC in LA created an arts and wellness program for youth in our unaccompanied children program.

Right now some 60 million people around the world are living in limbo, having been forced to flee their homes by war, conflict and persecution. That's more lives uprooted than at any time since World War II.

To illustrate the harsh reality Syrians face, the IRC produced its first virtual reality film. Read how virtual reality is changing the way we tell stories.

The youth team at the IRC in Silver Spring enrolled 84 middle school and high school students in our first in-person Summer Youth Academy since 2019 to empower newly arrived school-aged children to obtain the knowledge, skills and education needed to integrate, be self-sufficient and assert control over their futures.