International Rescue Committee in Spokane

10/14/2026

Our Legal Services Director for IRC’s Spokane and Seattle offices was recently interviewed about her work with Children’s Legal Services.

She shares how the loss of federal funding has resulted in unaccompanied refugee minors, many who are young children, being forced to represent themselves in immigration court.

Despite the loss in funding, the IRC continues to represent children facing deportation to unsafe countries and situations as part of our priority is to help provide safety and stability to refugees of all ages as they navigate crisis and uncertainty.

10/12/2026

One of the coolest parts about working in an office with colleagues from all around the world is learning from them about their culture and hearing about the pieces of home they feel connected to.

There are 22 languages spoken between staff, so we are lucky to be enriched, both personally and professionally, by many backgrounds and perspectives on a daily basis.

Our colleague, Areej, wrote this beautiful poem about her roots in Syria and how it shaped her identity. Her writing is powerful and paints a picture that honors a place and community she loves. Thank you Areej for sharing your talents with us through your work and your words ❤️

10/09/2026

We hosted our own Dolly Parton's Imagination Library event yesterday to get books in the hands of the families we serve!

We were “working 9-5”🎵 registering kids for the program. Actually, the event was only from 3-4:30pm, but in that time we were able to sign up more than 20 kids to get free books mailed to their home each month.

A group of happy kids speaking Spanish, Swahili, Dari, Arabic, Ukrainian, and English sat around the table together making bookmarks and decorating cowgirl and cowboy hats with all the glittery stickers their imaginations and hearts desired!

And thanks to the generosity of community members who donated books for the occasion, the kids got to take home a backpack full of books that day so they didn’t have to wait to start reading!

We sent parents home with goodies too… diapers, formula, snacks, hygiene items and vouchers to shop with our amazing partners at Global Neighborhood Thrift & Vintage.

These pop-up events spring from a idea to address a need, followed by help planning and organizing from interns, referrals from colleagues, invitations to clients sent out through our language channels, and the willingness of supporters in the community to give! Thank you to everyone who helped an idea we had a couple weeks ago come to life in such a fun and meaningful way!

10/07/2026

We were thrilled to be invited by the City of Spokane Mayor's Office to share more about our work at Mayor Brown’s “State of the City” event last night.

We were lucky to table alongside The Carl Maxey Center, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, The Community School, and City of Spokane - Municipal Government and learn about their amazing services and contributions to Spokane, as well as hear from Mayor Brown about the impressive details of the city’s recent emergency response, their legislative successes throughout the year, and their continued efforts to support ongoing local challenges.

Mayor Brown shared that Spokane is a city with momentum, acknowledging that there is still work to be done but progress is happening.

She closed by saying that in her conversations and interactions with community members and local organizations during the fires, it was never a question of whether or not people were going to help, it was only ever a question of how to best help. She recognized that as a characteristic of Spokane and left us collectively feeling proud to be part of this community!

10/06/2026

Happy National Tutoring Week! We are proud of the unique academic youth tutoring program that we've built in connection with Spokane Public Schools.

Thanks to our dedicated and skilled volunteer tutors, we are able to provide one-on-one, in-home, academic and English language tutoring to refugee youth, grades K-12.

We're excited to share some of their words and stories with you this week so you can hear about the impact this program has had on them and their students!

10/02/2026

Thanks to the generosity of Smith-Barbieri Progressive Fund, A Charitable Foundation, we have been able to provide families with ongoing digital literacy training. Through these classes, we’re able to equip them with the devices and skills needed to navigate personal communications with loved ones abroad, financial, educational, and vocational needs, and access to emergency and community updates through our language broadcast channels.

Our clients have varying experience levels and languages, so we meet in small groups to meet them where they’re at. Some clients request help with setting up email and online bill pay, and others need assistance with a second phone and phone plan in the home, something that we recognized was essential as part of our fire response efforts.

This particular group began with device operation, app navigation, and information on how to avoid scams and fraud. They learned a lot and left feeling prepared to manage an increasingly digital world safely and effectively!

10/02/2026

We want to give a huge and heartfelt thank you to the group of 20+ Whitworth University students and faculty for coming to help out in our New Roots Garden as part of their annual Community Building Day!

This is their 4th year helping with harvesting and garden clean clean up, and we always marvel at the massive amount of work they accomplish during the time they’re there.

The group of students assigned to work with us this year were from the school’s student association whose members strive for engagement and stewardship, which they certainly exemplified during their time with us. It’s clear that these student volunteers are future leaders!

10/01/2026

We would like to celebrate our drop-in short-term service team! This unique program provides walk-in case management to refugees and newcomers, no appointment necessary.

Clients can come in as often as needed at a time that fits their schedule to get help with day to day needs such as scheduling a doctor’s appointment, going through mail that’s in English, or paying a bill online. They’re also there to support with more complex issues like FOIA requests, IOM payments, supporting clients through PFML claims, DSHS or health insurance navigation, and filing AR-11s and USPS address changes, to name a few.

In the last year this one team has provided roughly 620 drop-in services and served 307 unduplicated clients, exceeding their deliverables by over 280%.

One of our recent clients shared with Oleksi that even if the problem can’t be solved, just knowing someone is willing to help gives him some peace of mind to manage the stress of the situation.

Oleksi shared with us that this was a good reminder that sometimes our job is not only about solving problems — sometimes just listening and letting a client know they are not alone can make a real difference.

Whether it’s through drop-in services or long-term, intensive case management, our team is here to walk alongside clients every step of the way!

09/29/2026

Thank you to The Spokesman-Review for highlighting the Eastern Washington Refugee Coalition’s “Longest Table” potluck in partnership with the Innovia Foundation. It’s always exciting to see people caring about the work we do!

“Attendees dined on Venezuelan pasta salad, Ethiopian Injera bread, Sudanese saffron rice, cookies from Panera Bread and Afghan Bolani, just a handful of the dishes attendees brought.

Just as the servings of the dish sat together on one plate, community members from myriad countries sat together at “the longest table,” a global initiative intended to bring strangers together to literally “break bread” and get to know their neighbors.

“We are focused on building community for refugee and immigrant groups, newcomers to Spokane,” said Margaret Hinson, director of the International Rescue Committee in Spokane, one of the organizations in the coalition. “One of the pillars of our coalition is to put on events like this where we can facilitate interactions across different communities.”

The ingredients on the heaping plates were as diverse as the people in a room at the Shadle Park Library on Saturday.

09/28/2026

Thank you to FāVS News for attending our info session last week and for the call to action! We always appreciate the collaboration with our faith partners in navigating these changes.

“We can’t do it alone,” Curry said. “At IRC, we work with our faith-based partners extensively and genuinely couldn’t do what we do without their support.”

It has been meaningful gathering with religious leaders, providers, members of the media, and concerned community members to share and learn more about what we can do together!

Spokane faith groups are being asked to help refugees navigate Medicaid changes that could leave thousands without health coverage.