Partnering with Afghan community organizations to help refugee resettlement
Airbnb.org is proud to announce it is partnering with the two largest Afghan serving organizations in the United States – the Afghan Coalition and Women for Afghan Women – to connect Afghan refugees to free, temporary housing in California, New York and Virginia. These new partnerships are part of a broader commitment to center and engage Afghan-led organizations in Airbnb.org’s ongoing efforts to house 20,000 Afghan refugees around the world.
“Airbnb.org’s work with Afghan refugees would not be possible without the guidance and support of our non-profit partners. We are proud to work alongside the Afghan Coalition and Women for Afghan Women to extend a warm welcome to Afghan families resettling in the US,” said Joe Gebbia, Airbnb Co-Founder and Chairman of Airbnb.org.
Based in Fremont, Calif., the Afghan Coalition is dedicated to strengthening Afghan families by improving their access to social services and building a strong and united Afghan American community. Through its partnership with Airbnb.org, the Afghan Coalition will help provide temporary housing to Afghan refugees arriving in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the cities of Fremont, Hayward, Union City, and Oakland. The Afghan Coalition will also connect newly-arrived Afghan refugees to longer-term housing, healthcare and mental health services, food and other basic needs.
“The refugees we are serving have been through so much pain and hardship. Our partnership with Airbnb.org will allow us to provide Afghan families resettling in the US with a welcoming place to call home while we work to provide additional services to help them rebuild their lives.”
Rona Popal, Executive Director of the Afghan Coalition
Women for Afghan Women (WAW) is a grassroots organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights of disenfranchised Afghan women and girls in Afghanistan and New York. Over the last several months, WAW has worked to help resettle refugees fleeing the conflict in Afghanistan. Support from Airbnb.org will help WAW provide temporary housing to Afghan refugees arriving in the tri-state and DMV area.
“Airbnb.org’s support will help us provide Afghan women and girls a dignified beginning as they start to rebuild their lives in the US. Women for Afghan Women will be there with them, side-by-side, until they can stand on their own,” said Naheed Samadi Bahram, US Country Director at Women for Afghan Women.
In addition, both Rona Popal and Naheed Samadi Bahram will serve as advisors to Airbnb.org’s Afghan resettlement program.
Since announcing its commitment to help house 20,000 Afghan refugees, Airbnb.org has worked with all nine major US resettlement agencies to help house Afghan refugees: Church World Service (CWS), Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC), Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), International Rescue Committee (IRC), US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and World Relief Corporation (WR).
About Airbnb.org
Airbnb.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in times of crisis around the world. Airbnb.org operates independently and leverages Airbnb, Inc.’s technology, services, and other resources at no charge to carry out Airbnb.org’s charitable purpose. The inspiration for Airbnb.org began in 2012 with a single host named Shell who opened up her home to people impacted by Hurricane Sandy. This sparked a movement and marked the beginning of a program that allows Hosts on Airbnb to provide stays for people in times of need. Since then, the program has evolved to focus on emergency response and to help provide stays to evacuees, relief workers, refugees, asylum seekers, and most recently, frontline workers fighting the spread of COVID-19. Since then, Hosts have offered to open up their homes and helped provide accommodations to 75,000 people in times of need. Airbnb.org is a separate and independent entity from Airbnb, Inc. Airbnb, Inc. does not charge service fees for Airbnb.org supported stays on its platform.