Welcome to AIRRC!

Agency History:

AIRRC was founded in 1982 as a direct result of increasing numbers of Ethiopian refugees who fled the dictatorship of Mengistus. Arriving to the United States with tittle more than the clothes on their backs, many settled in the San Francisco Bay Area and were initially housed by a local minister and former member of San Francisco Board of Supervisors, reverend Amos Brown. Those that the Reverend were able to take in were actually housed within his own home and given food and lodging, and attempts were made necessary to form a formal organization capable of addressing the myriad needs that the increasing numbers of refugees presented. Thus, the agency was officialy launched as a pilot project of Third Baptist Church.Initially, the agence was named the Ethiopian Reffugee Resettlement Center. However, given the tumultuous political dynamics affecting the African continent, both the types of refugees and their places of origin have dramatically changed.

The westward migration of tens of thousands of Sudanese, Nigerians, Congolese, and a host of other africans now make up significant numbers of newly arrived African refugees and immigrants. Latest estimates maintain that there are currently over one million African immigrants and refugees residing in the United States.

Many of these immigrants and refugees have braved and contuniue to brave hardships that are difficult for the average American to immgine, driven as they are by the dream of better life for themselves and their families. The agency's name has changeds accordingly as a mesure of sensing and responding to external changes in its client base and as a means of staying relevant. The agency prides itself in its signature model of Culture Brokering as an organizational cultural paradigm. This service model offers the AIRRC a competitive edge in terms of service delivery in that the target populations that the agency serves are more comfortable receiving services that are congruent whith their respective cultures.