WHY SUPPORT ALIRP? The Alabama Interfaith Refugee Partnership (ALIRP) is an interfaith group of religious leaders and laypersons, as well as representatives of other community groups, who have come together for the purpose of supporting refugees and asylum-seekers through advocacy, direct support, and education. The ALIRP received Internal Revenue Service approval for 501C3 tax-exempt status on October 16, 2019. Since then, the 11-member board and more than 70 active volunteers have worked together to put into practice our mission of supporting refugees and asylum-seekers locally and globally. In 2021, ALIRP received a "Silver rating" from Guidestar.
In September 2021, the Inspiritus Refugee Resettlement organization based in Atlanta (and affiliated with the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services organization), was approved to open a Refugee Resettlement office in Birmingham, Alabama. Up until now, the only agency in Alabama approved for refugee resettlement was Catholic Social Services in Mobile. The ALIRP is collaborating with Inspiritus to support refugees who resettle in the Birmingham area. Inspiritus will focus on support of refugees and will not be providing services to asylum-seekers. Thus, there will be an ongoing need for the ALIRP to help individuals seeking asylum who are in the Birmingham area. The number of people seeking asylum in the US continues to increase, and there are currently 1.9 million pending cases, including asylum cases, in immigration courts. Because asylum-seekers receive no support from the US government while pursuing their asylum claims, organizations like ALIRP are critical. Please watch a short video with interviews from several ALIRP board members and an asylum-seeking family we are supporting, by clicking on this link. WHERE DOES MY MONEY GO? ALIRP is a grassroots organization that is volunteer-driven. We have 3 paid staff members, two AmeriCorps/VISTA Service Member and one Half-Time Case Manager. A major part of our income goes toward supporting the missions of education, advocacy, and direct support, with the largest percentage allocated towards direct support. Some examples of how your donation supports asylum-seeking and refugee families as they navigate life in the U.S. include:
$200 pays for utilities for a month
$200 helps to pay for medical, transportation, clothing and miscellaneous expenses for a month
$1000 provides groceries (food) for a month
$300 helps pay the monthly bill for legal fees
$1000 provides rent for a month
HOW CAN I LEARN MORE BEFORE DONATING? To receive our newsletters and review past ones go to Newsletters under the section entitled "About" on our web page. You can also send us an email to [email protected]. We are happy to answer any questions that you might have. If you would like to learn more about volunteering with ALIRP, please complete the Volunteer Interest Formon our website.
To Make a General Donation, Click the Button Below. You can also mail a check to: ALIRP at PO Box 130632, Birmingham AL 35213
