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Stories

Housing

Ram Poudel
Ram Poudel  ·  Bhutan

My Son Asked Where Our Home was and I Didn’t Have an Answer to Give Him

Katie Moran
Katie Moran  ·  United States

A Hub of Giving

Local communities can make a difference in re-housing newcomers and creating a home
Yuliia Pylypenko
Yuliia Pylypenko  ·  Ukraine

Keeping My Promise: How I Found Safety for My Family and Started Helping Others

Mohammad Yousifi
Mohammad Yousifi  ·  Afghanistan

My Mom is the Reason for Our Safety

Claire Peterson
Claire Peterson  ·  United States

Volunteer Commitment and Community Buy-in is the Key to a Refugee’s Success

“Ask us how to help! We will find a place for you. There are so many things people could do for us.”
Sarah Kolsto1
Sarah Kolsto  ·  United States

Volunteers: The Key to Successful Refugee Integration

“I want volunteers who are going to be advocates for our families and to do this work for their whole lives.”
Lauren Weinhold 1
Lauren Weinhold  ·  United States

Hard Work is Heart Work

Kansas City’s biggest resettlement agency welcomes newcomers with warm homes and hope for integration
Hilary Cohen
Hilary Cohen Singer  ·  United States

The Difference Between Politics and People

Sarah Merwin
Sarah Merwin  ·  United States

Bridging Gaps and Fostering Hope in Kansas City

Ryan Hudnell
Ryan Hudnell  ·  United States

I See You, I Want to Know You

How Refugees Weave Color into Our Communities
Leisa McDonald Executive Director
Leisa McDonald  ·  United States

Matthew House Creates Community Where Community is Missing

Leisa McDonald and Her Welcome Teams Fill the Gaps with Friendship and Housing
Sarah Ingabire
Sarah Ingabire  ·  Rwanda

A Refugee Shares Both the Hard and Good From Her Experience in Foster Care

Dhulfiqar Al Hamawendi
Dhulfiqar Al Hamawendi  ·  Iraq

You Will Get Far but You Need Help at First

Larkpic
Lark Escobar  ·  United States

Veterans Support Afghan Allies When Government Fails

IMG 1728
Amy Underwood  ·  United States

Their Family Became Ours

Andrea
Andrea Osorio  ·  Colombia

The Struggle for Limited Resources

Marina illustration
Marina  ·  Ukraine

As We Crossed the Border There Were Warm Tents and Food

Paul Mwingwa
Paul Mwingwa  ·  Democratic Republic of the Congo

Wherever You Are Put, You Must Grow

It's good to go to an unknown place where I can figure things out.
V3 A9755
Nigeria

One Family Gives Back

We can’t keep everything for ourselves. We pray that the foundation will grow because the people of Afghanistan, they need help now.
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Jhennyfer and Carlos  ·  Venezuela

Outside the Land that Gave Us Everything

Nowadays, the journalist is persecuted and intimidated, and tortured for showing reality in a photo or image.
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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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