About Us
In August 2021, in response to the evacuation of 75,000 Afghan refugees from Afghanistan, Elizabeth Davis-Edwards, a long-time advocate for refugees, quit her job as a marketing executive and formed WelcomeNST to engage communities to help resettle refugee families. More broadly, she dreamed of pioneering a community-powered model for refugee resettlement. In the months that followed, WelcomeNST has engaged thousands of community members from around the U.S. to form Neighborhood Support Teams (NSTs) to welcome refugee families to the U.S.
Today, WelcomeNST enables everyday Americans to offer refuge to refugee families from Ukraine, Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and around the world, proving once again that, when crisis hits, Americans will step up and meet the moment.
In the News
Neighbors join forces to support Ukrainian refugee family
For the past six months, Ukrainians Olena, her mother Valentyna and her 1-year-old daughter have been staying in a shelter in the war-torn country after their home was destroyed in the first wave of destruction after Russia’s invasion.
At Clinton Global Initiative, Welcome.US Announces Commitment to Engage 50,000 More Americans in Sponsoring Refugees Over Next Three Years
Alight, Church World Service, Community Sponsorship Hub, HIAS, International Rescue Committee, REACT DC, The Shapiro Foundation, Migration and Refugee Services/United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and WelcomeNST to bring unique expertise to support resettlement work
New model to enlist regular Americans to resettle refugees
SAN DIEGO (AP) — When nearly 80,000 Afghans arrived in the United States, refugee resettlement agencies quickly became overwhelmed, still scrambling to rehire staff and reopen offices after being gutted as the Trump administration dropped refugee admissions to a record low.