Marin Immigrant Rights & Justice Asset Map
The Marin Immigrant Rights and Justice Workgroup (IR&J) was convened in 2017 by Shirin Vakharia of Marin Community Foundation and Kari Beuerman of Marin County Health & Human Services to enable county agencies, non-profits, schools, and funders to understand challenges the immigrant community is facing and develop a coordinated response. The initial focus was in countering mis- and dis-information about public change related to social services. Through collaborative efforts, partners developed and distributed unified messaging to providers and Marin's immigrant community about which social services could safely be received without threatening legal status.
Recently, the IR&J has expanded its efforts to deepen relationships among Marin's incredible provider community. The IR&J aims to facilitate the development of a more cohesive and comprehensive system of support that is easy to understand and navigate.
Organizations and agencies across Marin County provide programs and services that support immigrants to feel a sense of belonging and thrive. The tools are designed to help practitioners explore the system, identify opportunities to collaborate, and to see gaps to be filled.
Marin County has long supported the immigrant community by providing a system of support through government, schools, and nonprofits. The Immigrant Rights & Justice Workgroup (IR&J) is a collaborative of agencies committed to strengthening the local system of support to ensure all immigrants in Marin County feel a sense of belonging and can thrive. Using a "collective impact" approach, we aim to coordinate among organizations to provide a cohesive system of support that is accessible, culturally responsive, and comprehensive for Marin's immigrant community. Additionally, we aim to incorporate eco-friendly solutions to create meaningful and sustainable change.
The IR&J provides backbone support to the collaborative leadership efforts. They are composed of partner agencies and community members working to address immediate concerns and long-term challenges. Leaders attend quarterly IR&J meetings to share updates and coordinate strategies. While the focus of this work is to strengthen the system of support for immigrants, we believe this will result in benefits to all residents in Marin seeking to access the social safety net.
