ABOUT
Our Story
Origins
In winter 2021–2022, Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County invited congregations of all faiths in the Ann Arbor area to participate in their new refugee settlement co-sponsorship program.
In response, Beth Israel Congregation and Temple Beth Emeth, assisted by the deft leadership of our founding coordinator Harvey Somers, formed a collaboration which soon expanded to Jewish Congregations Organized for Resettlement (JCOR), comprised of six member organizations: Ann Arbor Orthodox Minyan, Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation, Jewish Cultural Society, and Pardes Hannah along with BIC and TBE. The Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor serves as JCOR’s fiduciary.
JCOR works in partnership with JFS, which provides orientation and training and guidance to JCOR volunteers who work under the supervision of a JFS caseworker.
In August 2022, JCOR accepted responsibility to co-sponsor its first family of four from Colombia.
JCOR’s first refugee family arrived in Ann Arbor following an arduous journey from their home in Colombia in August 2022. In less than 12 months, both parents were fully employed, both teenagers had completed their first year of school in the U.S. in good form, and big sister had a summer job. The father earned a driver’s license, and the family purchased a (used) car which saves $700/month that previously paid for contracted transportation to and from work.
Summer 2025
Seven months after their arrival, JCOR’s Venezuelan family is thriving. Mother has a full-time job and is looking forward to financial independence that will allow her to pursue her ultimate goal of a cosmetology career in the United States. Following a successful first school year in the States, Son is delighting in the lazy hazy dayz of Michigan summerz.
JCOR volunteers continue to lend support to the family with assistance inp
In response to the abrupt cessation of multiple federal funding sources, JCOR is helping to underwrite portions of the family’s housing and utilities, transportation to work, and other integral expenses as they arise. Gradually, the Mother is assuming responsibility for these costs.
While thousands of Venezuelan immigrants have been forced to leave the country, Mother and Son’s refugee status is providing them a stable footing here and their risk of deportation seems to be minuscule, if it exists at all.
Going forward in these politically volatile times, JCOR, together with JFS (Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County), is watching policymakers and the courts closely and discussing potential options. Whatever the future brings, whatever JCOR does, it will do it in support of the refugees in our communit
