HIAS Welcome Circles — Free Refugee Resettlement Peer Sponsorship
HIAS Welcome Circles is a peer-led private sponsorship model that pairs small groups of trained community members with newly arrived refugee families for the first six months after arrival in the United States. Launched after the fall of Kabul in 2021 in response to the urgent need for additional resettlement capacity, HIAS Welcome Circles has trained, supported, and provided ongoing guidance to more than 250 Welcome Circles across the U.S., serving over 800 individuals. The model creates lasting peer relationships between newly arrived refugees and welcoming community members — relationships that typically continue long after the formal six-month sponsorship period ends.
What to Expect
A Welcome Circle is a group of 5+ trained community members — synagogue members, faith communities, organizations, neighbors, or simply people who want to welcome — who commit to supporting one refugee family for six months. Circle members help with airport pickup, securing housing, enrolling children in school, navigating health care, finding employment, learning English, and building social connections. HIAS provides extensive training, dedicated staff support, resources on best practices, peer-to-peer mentoring between circles, and ongoing technical expertise. Many Circles continue informal relationships with the families they welcomed for years.
Who This Group Is For
Welcome Circles serve newly arrived refugee families resettling in the U.S. — primarily Afghan, Ukrainian, Latin American, and other refugee populations supported by HIAS. On the welcoming side, Circles are formed by synagogues, churches, mosques, organizations, community centers, and groups of private individuals who want to provide concrete peer-level support to a newcomer family. Circles operate in cities and small towns across the country. The peer model means refugees don’t just receive professional services — they enter a community of welcoming people who become part of their life in the U.S.
Why Peer Support Works
Refugees arriving in the U.S. often describe how powerful it is to be welcomed by ordinary community members who show up consistently — taking kids to school, sitting in waiting rooms, navigating paperwork together — rather than only by professional resettlement staff. The Welcome Circle model formalizes that peer relationship while providing training and support to make it sustainable. Many refugee families describe their Circle as the most important factor in their early adjustment to U.S. life.
How to Join
Welcome Circles are free to participate in for both refugee families and welcoming community members. Visit hias.org/how/welcome-circles to learn about the program, start forming a Circle, complete required training, and access HIAS support. The model is open to communities anywhere in the U.S. and to refugees being resettled through HIAS’s network.