Horn of Africa Services (HOAS) is a multi-lingual, multi-cultural nonprofit organization offering support and advocacy services to East African refugees and immigrants living in the greater Seattle area. HOAS is run by East Africans and addresses the health, employment, housing, education, and social needs of communities from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Sudan, and neighboring countries.
Map of the Horn of Africa
Founded in 1992 by a group of East African immigrants and refugees, and concerned volunteers, HOAS has been serving the East African Immigrant and Refugee community in Seattle for over 20 years. HOAS has been recognized throughout the Puget Sound as a leading social services provider to East Africans. HOAS has a multi-national board and staff composed mostly of East Africans who have experienced the hardships that our clients have been exposed to. HOAS continued to grow in the years to come, expanding staff in order to provide programs and case management services to help former refugees and immigrants achieve economic independence and self-sufficiency.
HOAS helps to empower clients to navigate more efficiently through their lives by creating an atmosphere of supportive interaction, learning and by providing information and guidance on accessing social and related services. HOAS strives to ensure our East African clients that their relocation to the Seattle area becomes trouble-free. Founded in 1992 by a group of volunteers, HOAS continues to provide assistance to East African immigrants and refugees, regardless of their religious, ethnic or political affiliations.
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide opportunities for low-income refugees and immigrants to develop the social, linguistic, and vocational skills they need in order to be socially integrated and economically self-sufficient. We implement programs that allow people who have been through tremendous hardships to regain control of their lives. We instill the concept that people must partake in issues that affect their lives and the lives of their family in order to have a better life. That people have to be their own advocates because they have issues specific to their lives that others may not understand.
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The Horn of Africa region is facing severe drought conditions.
Core Services and Programs
HOAS has been providing advocacy and educational services to East African immigrants and refugees through a holistic approach. This is an approach that lends itself to deeper understanding and tolerance in our communities and brings positivity and self reliance to the forefront of peoples lives. The community we serve has many obstacles to overcome which include learning a new language and culture, finding jobs in an unstable and confusing job market, overcoming persecution and emotional trauma, as well as preserving the morals and customs that they deeply value.
HOAS offers a range of programs designed to meet the diverse needs of the East African community:
- Social Services: Assistance with job hunting, immigration and citizenship, housing, and accessing public services.
- Information Referral and Case Management: Assist East African refugees to access social services through multi-lingual and culturally appropriate information, advocacy and referrals to local resources.
- Basic Computer Training: A technology-based educational resource center located in southeast Seattle to provide East African refugees and immigrants with a safe, culturally sensitive environment where they can access a computer lab and learn about computers with the assistance of multi-lingual staff and volunteers.
- After School Program - Tutoring: Provides homework help, and math instruction in a supportive and fun environment to East African refugee and immigrant youth from grades 3-12. Students are matched with a tutor for homework help and math focused tutoring to improve school performance and WASL test scores. We support children in their school work, improving their grades in school and in preparing for WASL examinations.
- Parent Advocates and Cultural Orientation: Develop parent knowledge of the schools, and provide substantive information parents need in order to understand the US school system and support their children in succeeding academically. The second half of the program is the cultural awareness trainings for educators working with East African youth. With this we will inform and empower people on both sides of the student - the educators and the families.
Bringing home the beans for East Africa’s coffee ceremony
Organizational History and Development
Horn of Africa Services was established in 1992 by a group of East African immigrants and refugees, and concerned volunteers. In 1996, HOAS Received 501(c)3 status, after which we helped to create and became a part of the Federation of East African Community Organizations in Seattle (FEACOS). HOAS continued to grow in the years to come, expanding staff in order to provide programs and case management services to help former refugees and immigrants achieve economic independence and self-sufficiency.
Expansion to San Diego
Horn of Africa was established in 1995 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization promoting the successful integration and physical and emotional health of the East African refugee population in San Diego, the largest in California and second largest nationwide. Over the past 15 years, the organization has successfully administered more than 85 grants from federal and state agencies, city and county programs, and local, regional and national foundations in response to growing and changing community needs.
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Horn of Africa is the leading community-based organization representing and advocating for the comprehensive and diverse needs and opportunities of African refugees and immigrants in San Diego, with a particular emphasis on refugees from Somalia. We are the primary and preferred resource for services to the African refugee community and the lead partner for collaboration with both other African community-based organizations and mainstream institutions. The Horn of Africa will advocate and serve African refugee families across the continuum of needs and will reach out to families in Somalia to assist in relief and immigration.
Read also: Details on the Horn of Africa deployment.
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