Washington Refugee Healing Center
Representative Adam Smith submitted the following Community Project Funding request for the Congolese Integration Network.
$500,000 was successfully included in the House Committee on Appropriations Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 appropriations bill.
Each Representative may request funding for up to 15 projects in their community for fiscal year 2023. This does not guarantee the projects will be funded.
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"As Washington state continues to see refugee resettlement as the best of the values America strives to uphold, the Covid 19 pandemic and continuing crises our world is facing have led to waves of residential displacements for new arrival refugees and low-income immigrants across the state. The Congolese Integration Network is incredibly grateful for Congressman Adam Smith's visionary leadership to ensure that Washington Refugee Healing Center is built to serve as a vibrant hub for vital services and community building. The center will offer equitable access to economic mobility, healthy and cultural food, affordable housing, culturally-relevant health services, and open green space." - Floribert Mubalama, Founder and Executive Director, Congolese Integration Network
“The Puget Sound region is home to thousands of immigrants and refugees who came to the United States in search of a better life. The Congolese Integration Network has done exceptional work in our region to uplift immigrants and refugees with critical services such as language services, housing assistance, and employment support,” said Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash). “Our current global landscape has led to more displacement across the world, meaning more individuals and families coming to our state, and the Congolese Integration Network has outgrown its current infrastructure. The funding I requested will allow the Congolese Integration Network to build a new Refugee Healing Center, which will enable them to meet their growing needs and provide vital services to this vulnerable community.”
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The Congolese Integration Network (CIN) seeks to build a new Refugee Healing Center that will be a service hub, a community building, and a cultural home for refugees and immigrants in King County. CIN has outgrown its current rented spaces in SeaTac, which are no longer adequate to meet the growing needs of the community.
CIN has supported the integration of Congolese and other African immigrants and refugees in the King County area by providing access to critical resources and services. This includes a full range of culturally and linguistically appropriate services to help newcomers address language barriers and housing instability; prevent homelessness; gain skills and economic resources; access information; and build community and family relations. To improve Congolese newcomers’ overall well-being and boost their resilience, CIN also provides trauma-informed social-emotional/psychological care and support, case management, individual and family counseling, youth programs, and referral services/programs.
The Refugee Healing Center will be a central hub for CIN to continue to deepen and expand its services and better meet the needs of the community.
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