JOURNEY'S END

Journey’s End Refugee Services is a nonprofit organization celebrating over 35 years of serving refugees in Buffalo. We are a Christian community-based organization with the mission of welcoming refugees without regard to ethnic origin, religion, gender or sexual orientation, or creed.

Refugees are a specially designated group of immigrants who have been determined by the UN and the US as “someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.” (UNHCR.org)

The resettlement process involves apartment selection and set up, airport reception and a warm cooked meal on the day of arrival, food and goods shopping, cultural orientation, medical and social service needs, enrollment in school for children, and all other aspects of life with which refugees need assistance upon arrival in Buffalo.

volunteer & Internship opportunities

In addition to the resettlement process, we, along with many volunteers and interns, assist refugees with:

• English Language Training

• Youth & Adult Education

• Vocational Training

• Job Placement & Support

• Citizenship Test Preparations

• Immigration Legal Services

• Interpretation

• Home Tutoring

• Young Adult Mentoring

• Entrepreneurship

• Agricultural Training

• And more!

Journey’s End strives to provide refugees with the resources and support they need, to become successful, active, and contributing members of the Western New York community.

Volunteers and Interns play an integral role in our welcome process by personally demonstrating the care and compassion of the community at large for the clients they serve. Ways to help during the COVID-19 era include:

• 1:1 Adult ESL tutoring via Zoom

• “Fun Friday” Group Conversation Practice

• Hands-on work on our urban refugee farm

• Naturalization Exam prep tutoring

• RAMP Young Adult Mentoring Program (in person and online)

• Donation Drives (Including personal hygiene & new household supplies, as well as warm winter outerwear – please email volunteer@jersbuffalo.org to discuss the most urgent needs)

• Apartment set-ups (the Home Again Program)

• Creative FUN-draising activities

For more information about our work or to learn more about volunteer or internship opportunities, please visit www.jersbuffalo.org or email volunteer@jersbuffalo.org

student spotlight

zachary kier, intern, spring 2019

Zack, (‘20) served as a Case Management Intern in the Journey’s End Resettlement Department. Working directly alongside case management staff, Zack assisted with everything from airport pickups, to orientations and appointment driving, all the way through to making and organizing case notes. In his semester with JERS, Zack experienced a true snapshot of refugee client care in their first 90 days in the U.S.

Speaking about his time at Journey’s End, Zack says, "My experience at JERS gave me first-hand experience to see how the bureaucracy in our country is failing to meet the needs of American Citizens and Refugees alike and inspired me to take a deeper dive into understanding how we should better allocate resources and funding to meet the needs of those most deserving of the wealth that our country has to offer.”

Now a graduate student at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Zack plans to complete his Master of Public Administration and pursue a career in state and local government as a city manager. Additionally, formerly a member of the Golden Griffin Battalion of ROTC, Zack now serves as a Platoon Leader in the North Carolina National Guard.