InterFaith Works is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

organization based in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

, that provides help and resources to

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s globally who are fleeing to the Central New York region from war, persecution and famine. The group's mission statement centers around ideas of respect for people of all backgrounds. It reads, "InterFaith Works affirms the dignity of each person and every faith tradition,InterFaith Works of Central New York. “CNY Inspirations: Begin with Equanimity and Loving-Kindness.” Syracuse, 18 Feb. 2024, www.syracuse.com/living/2024/02/cny-inspirations-begin-with-equanimity-and-loving-kindness.html. builds racial and religious equity, and creates bridges of understanding among us.

Programs

Center for New Americans

The agency works to resettle refugees from the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and other regions and help them integrate into their new communities by providing English classes, employment preparation, medical case management, mental health services, cultural orientation, referrals and community navigation services.

Center for Dialogue and Action

Bishop Colette Matthews-Carter leads this program which is an effort to encourage dialogue on

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

, race relations and healing to build understanding across racial, ethnic, religious and community differences. The Community-Wide Dialogue to End Racism is the most long-lasting dialogue of its kind initiating discussion for the last 25 years.

Center for Healthy Aging

This center serves older adults, caregivers who need a break, elder refugees, and active older adults looking for service opportunities to promote activity, socialization and lifelong learning to help older adults live well and age with dignity. InterFaith Works' Director of the Center for Healthy Aging Lori Klivak cited a growing population in

Central New York The central region of New York state includes: * Auburn in Cayuga County * Cortland in Cortland County * Oneida in Madison County * Syracuse, the largest city of Central New York, in Onondaga County * Fulton and Oswego in Oswego County ...

of people over the age of 65 in a multitude of backgrounds including large influxes of both

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

and

Hispanic people The term Hispanic () are people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an ethnic or meta-ethnic term. The term commonly applie ...

History

The organization was founded in 1976 to begin building understanding across racial divides driven by

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

activity and had heightened after the

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

terrorist attacks continuing to serve as a vehicle of hate. InterFaith Works strives to bridge the religions of

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, Sikhs, Buddhists, Mormons and other faith groups to unite cultures. InterFaith Works serves the following counties:

Cayuga Cayuga often refers to: * Cayuga people, a native tribe to North America, part of the Iroquois Confederacy * Cayuga language, the language of the Cayuga Cayuga may also refer to: Places Canada *Cayuga, Ontario United States * Cayuga, Illinois ...

Onondaga Onondaga may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Onondaga people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois League * Onondaga (village), Onondaga settlement and traditional Iroquois capit ...

, and Oswego. InterFaith Works executes multiple social service programs to address the needs of vulnerable, low-income, targets of

oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment of, or exercise of power over, a group of individuals, often in the form of governmental authority. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. No universally accepted model ...

, and refugees arriving through resettlement programs, fleeing

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

, and

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

. These programs are meant to serve the community and address the needs of vulnerable populations such as hunger and housing to promote the racial and religious diversity of the region. The agency actively works with programs associated with

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. In December 2023, the two collaborated on InterFaith Works’ holiday clothing drive in which Syracuse put out flyers and notices to students making the charitable drive public. InterFaith Works also has hosted refugee education classes including courses on interviewing for jobs.“Interfaith Works Helps Refugees Prepare for Job Interviews.” YouTube, YouTube, 10 Mar. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkMPmPKisHU.

References

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External links

Official website
Wikipedia Student Program Non-profit organizations based in New York (state) 1976 establishments in New York (state) Refugee aid organizations Refugees in the United States