About DARA
What we do
DARA's work in refugee resettlement
Initially, DARA assists refugee families for 4 to 6 months while they establish themselves with jobs, enroll in school, and become familiar with life in America. With the help of Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS), DARA cosponsors these refugee families as they acclimate and acculturate to a new life and country. DARA is 100% volunteer-run, with no social organization or congregation providing financial backing or support. The goal of cosponsorship is to help each family in the short term as they get used to their new lives, and to also empower them with the tools — both financial and social — to become self-sufficient within half a year.
The long-term stage of resettlement is an ongoing commitment. DARA will be a part of these families’ lives well into the future, not just in helping them in the short term. The ultimate goal of resettlement is to help families become part of our community as full, contributing members of American society. This commitment is DARA's way of investing in the viability our country and in the health, safety, and well-being of people who have endured violence, intolerance, and upheaval the likes of which most of us will never experience.
How you can help
Volunteers are the backbone of any nonprofit, and DARA welcomes volunteers of all abilities. Please visit our Volunteer page to see how you can get involved, and our Donate page to contribute.
DARA has come a long way since its inception in October of 2015. Originally a collection of neighbors — strangers to one another before our first meeting — hoping to help those in need, we became an official nonprofit organization in 2016. DARA has successfully resettled three families in our community, and we will be welcoming more families in the future.
DARA's members are all volunteers, and our teams work constantly to ensure that the families we resettle become full and contributing members of our community.
Mission
Danbury Area Refugee Assistance (DARA)
is a nonprofit organization that resettles refugee families,
providing advocacy and support as they work toward self-sufficiency
to become productive members of our community.