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Call to Action

How You Can Help our Afghan Allies

In response to a great need and many who have asked how to help, our friends at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) have put together an urgent plea for volunteers and donations to help newly arriving Afghan Allies.

August 16, 2021

Book Review

Book Review: We Are Displaced

Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Malala Yousafzai, is best known for her book "I am Malala" and her role advocating for the education of girls. "We Are Displaced" shares the stories of refugee girls from around the world.

August 16, 2021

Volunteer Perspective

Internship Program: Shared Experiences & Personal Growth

In an era where technology is so prominent and information is available to us at the simple click of a button, sharing experiences has never been so easy, yet it has left meaningful connections to sometimes be difficult. We are sometimes disillusioned into imagining that we can progress in our personal and professional lives best on our own, but I have found that is anything but true.

August 5, 2021

Event

2021 World Refugee Day Events- Salt Lake City

Come join us as we Educate, Integrate, and Advocate for Refugees in our Communities. One Story at a Time.

June 10, 2021

Event

2021 TSOS World Refugee Day Events

Come join us as we Educate, Integrate, and Advocate for Refugees in our Communities. One Story at a Time.

June 10, 2021

Book Review

Book Review: The Cat Man of Aleppo

The true story of how one Syrian man cares for the stray cats in his war-torn city, showing the difference one individual can make.

June 8, 2021

Book Review

Book Review: Everything Sad is Untrue

A true story written by Daniel Nayeri who left Iran at the age of 8 and resettled in Oklahoma. The way Daniel is treated will remind readers of the value of kindness and will make them think before they judge another for being different.

May 12, 2021

Current Issue: Urge President Biden to Increase Presidential Determination to 62,500 for Fiscal Year 2021

Help Biden keep his promise to increase the number of refugee admissions from 15,000 to 62,500 for FY2021. Visit the Exodus Refugees Advocacy webpage to see details about the Top 3 Ways You Can Take Action.

April 28, 2021

Book Review

Book Review: We're Different, We're the Same

In a Sesame Street simplistic style, We're Different, We're the Same shows how we can have things about us that are different and yet have things in common.

March 31, 2021

Collecting for the Kansas City Congolese Community

As our little Kansas City team and wonderful helpers worked together, we have discovered more love for the incredible refugee families than we could ever have anticipated. And with that, a yearning to tell the stories that brought them to our shared Kansas City home.

March 26, 2021
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What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2024, more than 123.2 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced from their homes due to war, persecution, or human rights abuses.

An increase of 7.2 million over 2023, that’s more than 19,619 people every day — roughly one person every 4.4 seconds.

They arrive in refugee camps and other countries, like the US, seeking the one thing they’ve lost: safety.

Fleeing political imprisonment, ethnic violence, religious persecution, gang threats, or war crimes, they come with what little they managed to carry:

Legal papers – if they’re lucky.

A single backpack.

Sometimes a child’s hand in theirs.

They also carry the weight of what they left behind: fractured families, homes they’ll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

They carry loss most of us can’t imagine – but also the truth of what they’ve endured.

At TSOS, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares their experience of forced displacement, they reclaim their voice. And when we amplify that voice – through film, photography, writing, and advocacy – the world listens. Hearts soften. Communities open. Policy begins to shift.

That shift matters. Because when neighbors understand instead of fear…

when lawmakers see people, not politics…

when a teacher knows what her student has survived…

Rebuilding life from the ashes becomes possible.

We’re fighting an uphill battle. In today’s political climate, refugee stories are often twisted or ignored. They’re reduced to statistics, portrayed as national threats, or used to score political points.

The truth – the human, nuanced truth – gets lost, and when it does, we lose compassion.

We are here to share their truth anyway.

At TSOS, we don’t answer to headlines or algorithms. We are guided by a simple conviction: every person deserves to be seen, heard, and welcomed.

Our work is powered by the people we meet — refugees and asylum seekers rebuilding after loss, allies offering sanctuary, and communities daring to extend belonging.

Your support helps us share their stories — and ensure they’re heard where they matter most.

“What ultimately persuaded the judge wasn’t a legal argument. It was her story.”

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, TSOS


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