Organization
The Immigrant Home English Program (IHELP) was founded as the Immigrant & Refugee Women’s Program (IRWP) in 1995 by Sr. Elise Silvestri under the SSND Ministry Corporation. In 2006, IRWP became a 501(c)(3) non-profit and expanded in the following years, changing its name to the Immigrant Home English Learning Program in 2020. IHELP provides free, 1:1 home-based English language and basic living skills to adult immigrants and refugees to increase independence and decrease isolation.
Partnership #1 (2022)
IHELP is currently in the process of merging with the English Tutoring Project (ETP), which has provided free, school-based English language instruction to children to support their academic success at Catholic schools. IHELP is incorporating ETP into their organization and shifting the youth program to be home-based and provided by volunteers. The Brown Sisters Foundation issued a challenge grant to attract new and increased donors to support the organization’s growth, and to support free, one-on-one, individualized English instruction for school-aged immigrant and refugee children. The grant will also support the successful transition of ETP’s program model to adaptation to IHELP’s volunteerism model and expand the reach of the program.