The United Nations defines a refugee as someone who flees his or her home country because of a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” According to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants 2009 World Refugee survey, there are approximately 13.6 million refugees worldwide. RefugeeOne serves refugees who are brought to the United States through the U.S. State Department and sent to Chicago for resettlement.

In 2010, RefugeeOne welcomed 539 refugees to Chicago, the majority of those arrivals coming from Iraq, Bhutan, and Burma/Myanmar. The number of Iraqi refugees resettling in Chicago has increased in recent years, as Iraqis continue to flee religious persecution or political persecution due to assisting the U.S. military in Iraq. Bhutanese refugees continue to arrive in the U.S. after fleeing ethnic persecution, and Burmese refugees have been displaced due to conflict between a brutal military regime, political opponents, and ethnic groups. In addition to these three groups, RefugeeOne continues to provide services to refugees from many other countries, such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and others.

The personal stories and needs of the refugees we serve are as diverse as the countries and cultures from which they arrive. Some refugees arrive in Chicago with little or no formal education or job training, while others hold advanced degrees that cannot be easily transferred to the U.S. job market. In every situation, RefugeeOne staff and volunteers are committed to helping each and every refugee successfully become financially independent, contributing members of their new community. For more information about how RefugeeOne works with refugees in Chicago, please see the individual program pages.

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