FAMILIES WELCOME

OUR CULTURE: FAMILIES WELCOME

Opening the door for moms and dads is opening the door for kids and families as a whole.

We set out to understand the unique challenges that resettling families face through conversations and experiences with our families, volunteers, partners, and donors.

HERE’S WHAT WE’VE LEARNED:

The majority of people coming through the refugee resettlement system come with their family. Many of the families we serve come with more than 5 children, some as many as 10 children. Most of the families we serve have children under age 5. Many of the moms and dads in our program are stay-at-home parents without access to babysitters. Most of our volunteers balance their contribution to Miry’s List with parenting, working full time, or a combination of the two.

These findings led us to developing comprehensive family-friendly practices to serve the resettling refugee population, our staff and volunteers. At Miry’s List we are raising the bar on family-friendly workplace policies:

All Miry’s List events are baby and kid friendly. We provide free on-site childcare for all team meetings, for staff, partners, and volunteers. We encourage family participation to immerse people of all ages in the practices of welcoming newcomers to our community. Flexible scheduling allows team members to fit their contribution in with the demands of parenting, work, and life.

These policies create an equitable environment which guarantees that all people we serve will receive fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement.

Huda Abu Gharbih, Director of Family Services Arabic at Miry’s List with her sons, Qassim 10, Mohammad, 7, and Abdullah, 4

Photograph by Christina Gandolfo