06/11/2025
It's day two of sharing client success stories from Sponsors Organized to Assist Refugees (SOAR). All identifiable details have been removed.
In early 2025, a single mother from a South American country, arrived in the U.S. with her three children, hoping to reunite with her partner. But when the relationship ended, she found herself alone—heartbroken, financially unstable, and facing eviction, with no place to go and no one to turn to.
Just as she was losing hope, a local church offered a temporary cottage—and SOAR stepped in to help her rebuild her life again. With support from a SOAR case manager and school specialist, the family moved into the cottage, where a team of volunteers was ready to welcome them. Her children were quickly enrolled in a nearby school, and for the first time since arriving, she found a safe place to regroup and begin putting her life back together.
SOAR’s volunteers surrounded the family with care: bringing food, offering Spanish-English interpretation, emotional support, childcare, cultural guidance, and housing orientation. Knowing she had to start a job as a housekeeper at a hotel the very next day, volunteers even provided bus training that same evening so she could get to work.
She was soon connected with the local Venezuelan community found by volunteers. A dedicated group of volunteers now offer one-on-one ESL tutoring, finding nearby food banks, and financial / cultural orientation to support her long-term goals.
Today, she is working and feeling hopeful again—grateful to SOAR’s staff and the community that showed her she was never truly alone. Her story is a powerful example of how resettlement agencies and volunteers can transform a moment of crisis into the beginning of a new life.
