Executive Summary

For 13 years, B1C has been bringing resources and opportunities to low-and-very-low-income immigrants to assist their successful integration in the US and has served over 18,245 individuals from 126 countries, speaking 49 languages. Located an hour north of NYC in Stamford, CT where 33% of the city’s population are immigrants, B1C is a safe and welcoming point of entry for immigrants, refugees and their families in the region. We are their trusted resource and the place they go to meet their many needs, understand how to navigate the systems, and gather as a community.

In planning for B1C, its founders worked to ensure that immigrant voices would be well-represented among board and staff, and that immigrants would play a major role in identifying the services developed to meet their needs. That approach continues to shape programming today, even as the area’s immigrant population has grown larger and more diverse. Moreover, both our current and former Executive Directors are Latinx women. Many of our staff are immigrants themselves and several of them were former participants.

B1C’s work has resulted in meaningful improvements in immigrants’ lives ranging from gaining English language proficiency, to upskilling, obtaining stable employment and increased incomes, starting businesses, recovering unpaid wages, becoming lawful permanent residents and US citizens, gaining asylum and other forms of relief from deportation, securing mental health services, obtaining health insurance and regular healthcare, supporting their children’s academic progress and advocating for educational equity, and connecting with others through cultural, recreational, and civic activities.

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