Background: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. At work in over 40 countries and 26 U.S. cities to restore safety, dignity and hope, the IRC leads the way from harm to home. Domestically, our 26 offices across the U.S. ensure new arrivals have food, shelter, and clothing, and work with refugees to help them gain self-sufficiency. 

Scope of Work: The Walk-In Services team is the first point of contact for the nearly 2,000 new walk-in clients who visit the IRC in Silver Spring each year. The team works directly with new refugees, asylees, parolees, and other humanitarian immigrants resettling in the DC Metro area, including Haitian, Ukrainian, Latin American, African, and Middle Eastern individuals, to ensure that they have timely access to both internal and external programming and benefits. This position will report to an Intake Specialist or the Intake Coordinator. 

Responsibilities: 

Conduct in-person screenings to assess clients for their eligibility for referral to internal IRC programming, including casework, employment, and immigration services & for external public benefits and resources. 

Complete program enrollment forms with clients to inform them of their rights and responsibilities & ensure all required client documentation is scanned and electronically on file. 

Assist clients with applying for eligible public benefits, including cash assistance and medical insurance. 

Conduct follow-up calls with new potential clients inquiring about IRC services, including providing them with walk-in day information, rescheduling, and responding to general inquiries. 

Assist the team with scheduling contract interpreters for appointments. 

Regularly track service provision through electronic data entry and organize required client documentation. 

Other duties as assigned by the Walk-In Services team. 

Learning Objectives: 

Intern will gain US resettlement agency experience, including assessing a high volume and diversity of new potential clients. 

Intern will acquire knowledge of internal programs and public benefits available to humanitarian immigrants. 

Intern will learn how to communicate with a diverse population, including how to effectively utilize interpreters. 

Intern will learn tracking and reporting requirements for resettlement agencies and how capturing this data improves services.