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Helping Refugees & Immigrants Build New Beginnings

Jewish Family Service provides personalized support to help refugees and immigrants establish safe, stable, and self-sufficient lives in the Puget Sound region.

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Program Overview

Welcoming the Stranger in a Time of Crisis

We are in a critical moment for refugees and immigrants who have been waiting for their chance to rebuild their lives in the United States, as well as for those who have recently arrived. Immediately after the presidential inauguration, a flurry of executive orders and other directives was issued, suspending the refugee admissions program and preventing refugees from coming into the country. We also saw executive orders making asylum inaccessible, eliminating humanitarian parole programs, and making capricious attacks on immigrants, including an attempt to end birthright citizenship and protections for unaccompanied children. For 133 years, JFS has stood as a beacon of hope for refugees and immigrants seeking to establish new homes in safety and dignity, and we remain committed to this work with the support of our community.

Who We Are
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Key Services

Resettlement

Since refugees haven’t been allowed to enter the United States since January, JFS is focused on serving the refugees who arrived previously, along with Special Immigrant Visa holders (meaning they worked with the U.S. forces).

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Key Services

Intensive Case Management

We provide comprehensive, long-term case management to refugees and asylees who face additional barriers to stability including single-parent households, members of the LGTBQI community, and those with complex medical and mental health needs.

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Key Services

Employment Services

We assist with job readiness skills, employment counseling, and job placement and retention. JFS also offers training to help new arrivals become certified paraeducators and provide comprehensive case management to remove barriers to employment.

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Key Services

Support for Survivors of Trafficking and Other Youth

We provide evidence-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate case management services to survivors of labor and sex trafficking and other vulnerable youth. Our services help youth stabilize in a range of areas critical to their basic needs. Case managers also conduct outreach and education to community service providers.

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Key Services

Resettlement

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Key Services

Intensive Case Management

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Key Services

Employment Services

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Key Services

Support for Survivors of Trafficking and Other Youth

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Our Impact

JFS is committed to empowering refugees and 
immigrants through compassionate, effective services.

Read Our Report
1,588

refugees and immigrants built new lives with assistance from JFS in FY25

43%

of our employment program participants secured jobs in FY25

91%

of clients still had their jobs three months after they secured employment

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A JFS Update:

A Call to Action

Federal policies seeking to bar refugees and immigrants from entering or remaining in this country are putting children and families in danger.

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Why Our Stories Matter

Standing Up for Refugees and Immigrants This Refugee Shabbat

This is a critical moment for us to reaffirm and redouble our support for refugees, asylum seekers, and the forcibly displaced.

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Thanks to Our Funders

JFS serves individuals and families from King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties. Most programs are offered at no charge to participants and are made possible by generous funding from our community and these organizations: 

  • HIAS 
  • U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) 
  • Solid Ground Washington 
  • WA State Office of Refugee & Immigrant Assistance (ORIA) 
  • City of Kent 
  • King County 
  • U.S. Department of State – Bureau of Population, Refugees & Migration (PRM) 
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services – Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) 
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services – Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP)
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Every Contribution Helps

Your support ensures that refugees and immigrants in our community receive the resources they need to thrive. (You don’t need to donate to JFS to receive services.)

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