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About Us

Founded in 2016, AsylumWorks provides culturally and linguistically appropriate services to help newcomers seeking safety protect and promote their health, participate in immigration legal proceedings, and access opportunities needed to integrate into their new communities. Direct client services are free and available to individuals and families with legal presence living in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia regardless of language or country or origin. To scale our impact beyond the National Capital Region, AsylumWorks creates and shares expert tools and training resources to support newcomer-serving organizations nationwide.

Our Mission, Vision and Values

Our Mission

Our mission is to educate, equip, and empower newcomers
seeking safety to overcome health, employment, and legal barriers.

Our Vision

Our vision is a world where where all refugee newcomers can access the knowledge, tools, and support they need to rebuild safe, stable, and self-sufficient lives.

Radical Hospitality

We believe that welcome fosters belonging.

Courage

We are willing to take risks and challenge convention.

Respect

We believe that every person has value regardless of power or privilege.

Collaboration

We believe that effective problem-solving requires a diversity of voices.

Accountability

We demand excellence from ourselves and take responsibility for the results of our work.

Our Story

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2016

AsylumWorks is founded by Joan Hodges-Wu, a social worker specializing in the care of asylum-seeking survivors of torture, with $4,000 from a GoFundMe campaign.

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2017

AsylumWorks pilots a job readiness training, our first client offering.

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2018

AsylumWorks receives $15,000 from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of African Affairs.

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2019

AsylumWorks partners with HIAS to secure multi-year federal funding to serve survivors of torture living in the Greater Washington metro region.

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2020

As many organizations close their doors, AsylumWorks adapts our service model to provide high-quality telehealth services to ensure service continuity.

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2021

AsylumWorks pilots an on-the-job training program to teach former clients how to serve new clients as therapeutic case managers. In 2022, the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement identified the fellowship program as a national best practice.

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2023

AsylumWorks is awarded multi-year federal funding to provide services to recently arrived Afghans impacted by combat.

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Annual Reports & Financials

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Contact Information

1718 Connecticut Ave, NW, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20009


Please note client services are by appointment only. To request an appointment, please complete the new client questionnaire here

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