As immigration policies continue to fluctuate across the country, the student organization Facilitating Opportunities for Refugee Growth and Empowerment at Pitt remains committed to its mission of supporting Pittsburgh refugee communities through education, advocacy and mentorship programs. 

FORGE is a program based in the United States that was founded in 2005 as an advocacy organization for humanitarian crises for African refugees. It has grown and expanded in size ever since, with new chapters forming across the nation, including at Carnegie Mellon University. 

“FORGE is a special organization,” Rudra Patel, business manager of FORGE and senior biomedical sciences student, said, “because you’re getting to work with such a special population that you have in Pittsburgh, the refugee populations.” 

One of FORGE’s initiatives is its tutoring program, which partners volunteers with local organizations like Hello Neighbor and previously with Acculturation for Justice, Access and Peace Outreach. Volunteers are matched with refugees and their families to help with English language learning or assistance with everyday tasks, like making doctor’s appointments or reading emails. 

“I worked with this one student for over three years,” Sarah Siddiqui, senior health policy and management who is the vice president of FORGE, said. “It’s really great to see all of the improvement. She works really hard and she improves a lot every week. Her English skills from when we started lessons to now are incredible.” 

Patel, who is an international student and went to high school in Kuwait, shared how his foreign background has helped him connect and communicate with refugee families. 

“I was matched with a Syrian refugee family here,” Patel said. “We bonded throughout the semester and communicated with each other better. I did my high school in Kuwait before coming to the U.S., so I knew a little bit of Arabic, and I was familiar with the customs, so that had helped me gain trust with the family.” 

According to Patel, FORGE volunteers help refugee families with their daily lives to adapt to a new environment. He has been helping the same families for years and, like Siddiqui, has seen significant improvements in their English skills. 

“Towards the end of the semester, I could see the husband was able to schedule his own appointment at UPMC, and even the wife was able to read short bedtime stories to their children in English,” Patel said. “And I feel like those little moments are where I see success happening.”

Hello Neighbor hosts Adult English as a New Language classes twice a week for refugees who want to learn English. Student volunteers from FORGE can serve as “teacher’s assistants” for these classes across Pittsburgh.

“We got in contact with Hello Neighbor and matched student volunteers up with families or classes that needed help,” Cassandra Calvaresi, president of FORGE and a senior linguistics major, said. “So right now, we have students TAing in English classes at Hello Neighbor every twice a week … And we have students who go in and do kind of a teaching assistant position, helping out with the English teachers with activities and that sort of thing.”

One of the biggest challenges many refugee families face is learning how to get around the city of Pittsburgh. To help navigate these conflicts, FORGE started a transportation assistance program to teach refugees how to use public transit. 

“A lot of refugees will come to Pittsburgh and be unfamiliar with how to use the bus system,” Siddiqui said. “So we have volunteers meet up with the families and teach them how to use the bus and how to get where you’re going, which I think is really important.” 

Community resettlement agencies and other organizations from outside of the University help refugee families access basic necessities like food, shelter and job opportunities. With a new executive order on refugee policies on Jan. 20, 2025, the entry of refugees into the United States was restricted. Similarly, the Trump administration has restricted funding for refugee programs and resettlement agencies. 

“The current political climate is already affecting the communities greatly,” said Calvaresi. “Now with the new policies, all of the resettlement agencies here in Pittsburgh and in the United States are facing a lot of problems with funding. So that’s been a challenge that we’re trying to get past.” 

As the business manager of FORGE, Patel has worked closely with FORGE’s partnering agencies, including Hello Neighbor. According to Patel, Hello Neighbor is facing challenges with the restriction of federal funding. 

“I’m concerned with what’s going on right now — with how the current administration is doing with restrictions in funding — it’s a tough job for Hello Neighbors to function,” Patel said. “I came here as an international student, [and] even on a legal basis, I feel like there were so many things I had to adjust [to] and learn. And the same thing is with refugee populations, and if they have that support from the local organizations, it would really help them facilitate and be better citizens of the country.”