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Our purpose

Our goal is to create a thriving integrated community in Southwest Missouri where all people belong and live abundantly. We do that partly through empowering our refugee and immigrant clients towards self sufficiency and becoming assets to our community.

Refugee and Immigrant Services and Education (RAISE) believes in the inherent value of every person, regardless of race, ethnicity, origin, tribe, or culture. Because of this belief, RAISE delivers services and support in three main ways:

Welcome Well

Superior Support

Empower Everyday

Welcome Well

RAISE commits to receiving all refugees and legal immigrants with open arms and a readiness to provide service according to the needs and goals of the client. RAISE cements this commitment by connecting each client to community volunteers who walk side-by-side with the client as they integrate into the greater Joplin community.

Superior Support

RAISE commits to providing exceptional services and programs to clients focused on developing self-sufficiency in America. Here is a short list of the programs and services RAISE offers refugees and immigrants:

  • English Language Education 

  • Health Service Referrals

  • Job Readiness Training and employment support.

  • Youth Engagement Programs

  • Community Connection

Empower Everyday

RAISE empowers clients to advocate for their interests and seek solutions to their problems. RAISE desires that all clients reach a point of sufficiency and self-determination.

Our Stories

"When I was five years old, I lost my parents in the genocide. They came in and started cutting everyone. We started running. My mom hid me under the chair in church. And she said, 'If you want to survive, we have to quiet you no matter what happens.'"

That was the last time Amina saw her mom.

JOPLIN, Missouri

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