'It Feels Like Home': Summer Soccer Camp Welcomes Refugee Kids

The basketball academy in Queens teaches basketball and English language skills to Spanish-speaking immigrant children. The academy helps youth navigate culture shock, bullying and the lack of community they may feel when they first arrive in the country, while ensuring they still maintain a sense of their parents’ language and culture.

When asylum seekers are released from the Aurora, Colorado immigration center, many seek help and community from the nonprofit organization, Casa de Paz. Based in Denver, the nonprofit offers these individuals and any visiting family members a place to stay and helps connect them with community resources.

The Kino Border Initiative is a volunteer binational organization that provides food, aid, and shelter for migrants crossing the border between Mexico and Arizona. The rate of asylum-seekers is steadily rising, and this organization makes sure that they have a safe place to live while they wait for their day in court. Every day up to 60 volunteers conduct services that range from preparing meals to translating Indigenous languages.

In Tucson, Arizona, a former Benedictine monastery is providing temporary shelter to asylum seekers. The space was temporarily donated to Casa Alitas, a nonprofit, following a sharp increase in asylum-seeker in the past year. The nonprofit provides the individuals and families staying there with shelter, food, clothing, and any other care they may need while they prepare for the next part of their trip.

By taking up boxing, Michigan’s youth learn to diffuse violence and cope with their stressors. Kalamazoo Eastside Boxing provides structure, mentorship, and a social outlet for disadvantaged and troubled youth across Michigan. In addition to keeping young people off of the streets, being a part of the boxing club helps to improve their sense of self-worth.

A professional soccer team in Andalusia called Alma de África has helped integrate migrants and locals. The team has 25 players from 16 different countries, including Spain. It provides a sense of family and belonging amid frustrating circumstances for both newcomers and locals.

Walking with immigrants to their court hearings and ICE check-ins can help them feel supported and protect their safety and rights. The New Sanctuary Coalition has run an accompaniment program since 2007. Volunteers do not interfere with proceedings, but by their presence, they demonstrate community support of immigrants and play witness to interactions between immigrants and government officials.

The Homeless World Cup is the premier soccer tournament for homeless players. Programs around the world use soccer as a means of building a sense of community, sublimating negative energies, and encouraging personal growth.

Lincoln Literacy addresses language barriers for immigrants and refugees through a volunteer-based ESL program that offers over 100 classes across nine locations in Lincoln, Nebraska. The organization's model includes community classes, workplace partnerships where employers pay for on-site instruction during work hours and a student-centered curriculum that adapts to real-world communication needs. The group has been operating since 1975.

Minds United Football Club hosts weekly sessions for people to join together and play football, while also addressing their mental health and well-being. Minds United, and similar sports clubs, aim to create a “we-agency,” providing people with a sense of being part of something bigger than themselves that allows them to feel empowered and supported. Sports groups like Minds United foster community among people who may be experiencing loneliness or mental health issues and are in need of a healthy outlet, particularly for men who face significant mental health stigma.