When the White House announced earlier this month that it would increase the number of refugees granted admission into the United States this fiscal year by four times the previous target, to 62,500 people, reversing course from President Biden’s initial plan, immigrant advocates applauded the decision. Yet groups working to help resettle refugees are now facing another new challenge: finding housing for new migrants.

A holiday celebration beckons us to learn from the past and take action today.

As the Founder and Executive Director of Miry's List, Miry Whitehill and her team have helped over 350 refugee families settle into their new lives in America and provided them with the resources, and support they need to thrive. Miry's journey of purpose and connection is about the bonds we all share as human beings, and the simple yet powerful difference we can make with a single act of kindness.

Hopefully, you can stand the HEAT of this season of Popaganda—because this week, host Carmen Rios is taking you into the kitchen, where refugee chefs and their neighbors are breaking bread and building community.

‘This is what the purpose of the internet is all about.’

Food has the power to connect people. The New Arrivals Supper Club is using the power of food to build bridges.

At this L.A. supper club, refugees share food and memories of the lives they left behind.

Beneath the dimmed lights of a downtown L.A. restaurant, Naseema Kashefi watched quietly as a hungry crowd fawned over the crunch of her golden samosas. Servers passed her Afghan specialty on ceramic trays while her newfound fans groaned with each bite.

Syrian refugees Maisa Kanjo and her husband Abdul prepared some of their family’s favorite recipes for about 60 guests at Spread Mediterranean Kitchen in downtown Los Angeles.

Laura McHolm, co-founder and marketing director at NorthStar Moving, helps a number of charities in a variety of ways

The harsh reality behind the refugee crisis in Syria with Phillip DeFranco, featuring one of our very own Miry’s List families.

Miry's List has a monthly event where one resettled family hosts a ticketed dinner and takes home the majority of the proceeds.

What do families resettling in America as refugees need most? Good neighbors. Learn one mom's journey into the refugee resettlement system in America and how she created a scalable platform that over 75,000 American people have used to welcome their resettling neighbors.

Mattel and Miry's List help ensure smooth transitions for United States' newest arrivals.

For the season finale of That Moment, we’re talking about food—our relationship to it, how we find it, and what it provides for us beyond just sustenance. Host Doree Shafrir talks to Miry Whitehill, who started Miry's List, an organization that pairs new arrivals in the US with the resources they need. Miry started the organization after a chance meeting with a Syrian mother. She quickly discovered that food doesn't just bridge cultures—it can help families get back on their feet.

A San Fernando Valley coalition of more than a dozen organizations came together as a way to support immigrant families.

Have you ever wondered how you could help the Refugee families that come to the United States? In this conversation with Miry Whitehill we discuss the three chronological pillars they practice to support each families’ first steps off the plane as they seek a safe haven from violence and persecution.

A year and a half ago, Miry Whitehill got a call from a neighborhood friend who had met a family of recently arrived refugees from Syria. They had a 7-month old and were in search of a jumperoo, a doorway harness that a baby can bounce in.

Renee meets Maysaa and Abdul Kanjo, Syrian refugees who fled with their four children after escalating violence in their hometown.

We hear from Miry Whitehill, CEO and Founder of Miry's List, on how she used crowdsourcing and social media to provide supplies to 250 refugee families resettling in Southern California.

Renee attends a dinner in Los Angeles where Syrian refugees share their culture through food and music with strangers, who become fast friends.

An accurate indication of having a good neighbor is sharing; they share tools, holiday cards, and favors, but the single most appreciable thing one can share with another is food.

2018 has begun, and pundits and opinion makers are predicting that 2018 will be the “Year of the Woman”. That of course, is yet to be seen. And we have heard this prediction before. Yet it is hard to deny that women have made enormous progress in the past few years.

Mom of two helps 250 families in the past 15 months. Elsa Ramon reports.

What becomes of a refugee when they’re no longer a refugee? We spend so much time talking about migration caps and vetting that we seem to ignore all the Americans living amongst us, trying to acclimate to their new country after the harrowing journey from their former homeland. Would it surprise you to learn that they start their new life in substantial debt? Or that they don’t have many of the basic items they need to live, let alone feel like a human being? Wouldn’t you like to know how you can help?

“I have absolutely no background in this. I’ve never worked in politics or the nonprofit sector. I spent ten years in digital marketing before leaving to raise my two kids. But Miry’s Listdidn’t come from a place of wanting to change the system of refugee resettlement. It came from me, as a mom, seeing a baby without a crib mattress and wanting to help.”

When Babak Esmaeily and his 11-year-old son Behniya arrived in Turlock, CA in January 2017, they were seeking a fresh start. But this wasn’t just any move. As refugees from Iran, where Babak and his family were persecuted for promoting secular education, the father and son have had to create a whole new life—in a whole new language. Nothing about being a refugee is normal, but with their new routine slowly taking shape, Babak and Behniya are learning together how to be a family, and how to move forward.

Started in 2016 by Miry Whitehill-Ben Atar, Miry's List is primarily a social media-based group that provides assistance to refugee families coming to Southern California with donations int he way of furniture, clothing and other vital necessities.

When Miry Whitehill-Ben Atar visited a Syrian family newly arrived to Los Angeles about a year ago, with a friend who knew them through church, the 31-year-old mother of two noticed that the refugee family shared much in common with hers: The Syrian woman was her age with a baby her son’s age. But she also noticed a striking difference in their home — the apartment was almost empty.

City of LA recently honored Miry's List founder, Miry Whitehill for her outstanding work! Miry's List is a non-profit that helps refugee families through fundraisers, crowdsourcing and social media.

Bashir Kashefi, his pregnant wife and their young daughter are celebrating their first Independence Day in the United States after arriving as refugees in March from Afghanistan. While they’re excited, they’re concerned that other refugees won’t be so lucky.

Basic supplies like shampoo, soap or diapers may be taken for granted by many families, but for refugees who arrive in the United States with nothing they are difficult to obtain.

“My friend asked me for a Jumperoo,” Miry Whitehill says. “That’s where it all started.” Whitehill, the founder of a nonprofit organization that crowdsources items for refugees,  didn’t set out to start an organization like Miry’s List, but then again, she did have a Jumperoo on hand.

Miry's List is a first of its kind refugee crowdfunding platform connecting new arrivals with neighbors willing to help. Patrice Howard reports form Los Angeles for Channel News Asia.

 Over the past 15 years, California has taken in more than 100,000 refugees escaping violence and poverty in their home countries. Danielle Nottingham reports on how non-profits across the state are trying to meet refugees' needs as they begin their new lives in the U.S.
 

Maybe it was the fact that the baby was the same age as one of her own sons. Maybe it was the familiar look of exhaustion on the mother's face. Whatever it was, Miry Whitehill felt an immediate connection to this family she'd never met, even though she couldn't speak to them in their native language, Arabic.

Inspired by the television images of areas like war-torn Syria, Eagle Rock mother Miry Whitehill-Ben Atar took action to collect donations for a Syrian refugee family in Los Angeles.  John Cádiz Klemack reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 24, 2017.

If the events of this particularly bleak week have left you wondering how you can help, you’re not alone. This is why we find it incredibly important to bring attention to Miry’s List, an organization that’s doing life-changing work to help Syrian refugees. Read more >

This supper club gives Syrians refugees an opportunity to break bread with their new American neighbors and share their food and culture.

The Wakili family immigrated to the U.S. in January. They were refugees from their home country of Afghanistan. After spending their first night in America at a motel, the family of seven moved into a one-bedroom apartment … with no beds. That’s where Miry’s List came in.

When Miry Whitehill visited the home of refugees who had arrived from Syria only weeks before, she was shocked by what she saw. The family’s apartment was nearly empty and lacked some basic essentials, like a refrigerator and a crib. “This woman had a baby the same age as mine and was not able to put her baby down because she didn’t have anywhere to put him,” said Whitehill. That’s when Whitehill decided that something needed to be done. Read more >

Constance Wu is known for her portrayal of Jessica Huang on ABC's Fresh Off the Boat — but we are always keeping our eye on the IRL Constance, too. Read more >