Refugee Assistance Alliance

Refugees are still here. So are we.

“I’ve been fighting with everything in me.” Those are the words of a refugee mother in Miami caring for her son with leukemia. This year, families like hers lost almost every safety net they had. Refugee Assistance Alliance (RAA) is one of the few organizations still standing beside them. With your gift this Give Miami Day, we’ll keep standing there.

Who we are
Since 2017, Refugee Assistance Alliance has brought together ordinary Miamians (volunteers, mentors, teachers, donors and employers) to help refugee families who resettled here legally. We help them move from crisis to stability, then on to independent, hopeful lives. We meet refugees as neighbors, not case numbers, and we stay for years, not weeks.

Why now
In the past year, the support refugees relied on has almost disappeared:

• All federal refugee resettlement funding was removed, and nearly every refugee agency in Miami closed.
• Refugees lost access to food stamps.
• In October, 74% of refugees in our programs lost Medicaid and children’s health insurance. That includes families managing cancer, epilepsy, diabetes and serious injuries.

For refugee families, one crisis can quickly become consuming. A health crisis threatens a job. Hunger derails English classes. One setback can undo months of progress and leave a family facing eviction.

What we do
We help families in crisis stabilize, then move forward:

Stability: A refugee family can't learn English, gain qualifications or advocate for their children if they are hungry, struggling with health, or facing eviction. We provide food deliveries, emergency rental assistance and healthcare guidance to families in crisis.

English: Language is the key to work and belonging. Refugees need English to find work, study certifications, and gain promotions – but also to make friendships and start to integrate. 

Personal growth: Finding survival work is only the first step. Refugees struggle to move into jobs that pay enough to support their families. Without new skills, refugees’ job prospects fade and families can stay trapped in poverty for a generation. We're changing that. In 2025-26, nearly half of the adults we served worked towards an education, career or personal goal with our support. We're helping with job search support, certificaitons, vocational training and driving lessons. 

Friendship: Refugees feel isolated and profoundly alone. We walk alongside them, with volunteer teams, home visits and community events, because isolation erodes the confidence it takes to keep going.

What your support achieved in 2025-26

• 223 refugees from 17 countries, in 84 households
• 9,781 hours of service, powered by 152 volunteers
• 98% of households in stable housing
• 100% of households with at least one person working
• 76 adults learning English
• 83 clients supported by our new Food Stability program
• $46,031 in direct help with rent, utilities, food and crisis care

Give on Give Miami Day
As other support disappears, your gift keeps food on the table, keeps a family housed through a medical crisis, and keeps a student in English class. A monthly gift goes even further, giving families steady support all year round.

Refugees in Miami are still here, raising their children, studying, working and building new lives. So are we. Please help us stay.

Read our 2025-26 impact report and meet the people we help in the videos below.