Our Mission and Values
Our Mission
To serve immigrants that fled violence abroad adjust to life in the local community.
Our Values
Mentoring
Compassion
Equity
Friendship
Our History
The Bloomington Refugee Support Network (RSN) began in 2016 when Diane Legomsky held a meeting at Beth Shalom Synagogue, inviting everyone who was interested in supporting refugees. It was an educational forum, open to the community, and over 120 people attended. It was clear then that the local effort needed to be more than a Beth Shalom committee. Bloomington had become a federally authorized resettlement site for refugees in 1981 when Exodus Refugee Immigration began operating in Indiana. At approximately the same time, Exodus announced their plans to open a satellite office in Bloomington to help resettle federally-approved international refugees. RSN was organized as a 501(c)(3) entity in 2017. When the organization began serving people outside of the City of Bloomington, the organization dropped “Bloomington” from the title and switched to Refugee Support Network or simply RSN.
Who We Serve
The Bloomington Refugee Support Network is a local, all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit that assists newly arriving families. These families who have fled violence in their home countries must adjust to life in our community, reacquire job skills, address urgent medical, dental and trauma concerns, raise their children and practice their faith in safety. They are asylum seekers or refugees who follow our immigration laws, strive to succeed and be a vital part of our community.
Over the past several years, we have helped over 100 families from China, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua, Mexico, Ukraine, Sudan and Honduras.