Connecting Our Clients with Holistic Support: A Closer Look At Our Social Services Unit
featuring Social Services Manager Megan Monahan
We are immensely proud to have a dedicated Social Services Unit at NWIRP. We began providing social service assistance in 2019, and the unit has now grown to two full-time staff members, a supervisor, and three social services practicum interns.
Our Social Services Unit (SSU) works with clients referred by our legal staff and advocates through “light touch” services, like providing resources and essential information on available programs, as well as longer-term support for people experiencing unstable housing or other significant challenges.
Our Social Services Manager, Megan Monahan, started her career at NWIRP in January 2023 after previously working with the International Rescue Committee. When asked why she wanted to join NWIRP, Megan said, “I was so impressed with the dedication and hard work of NWIRP’s staff. This is such a great organization that not only supports its clients but also its staff.” Our Social Services Advocate, Jóse Meza, started his career at NWIRP in March 2023 after previously working at both Treehouse and Friends of Youth. Together with our interns, they support adult clients and unaccompanied children and youth.
When our Social Services team receives a referral, they review the needs of the client and decide the best and most efficient way to provide them with immediate support. While nearly all of our clients would benefit from social services support, having a small team means these referrals must be prioritized based on need. So far this year, our team has closed over 80 cases, taken on an additional 50 open cases, and has nearly 30 clients on a waitlist. This means that in a given year, our team is able to assist almost 200 community members.
While we are very proud to provide this level of assistance, we will need to expand our team to meet the growing demands of the community. Many of our clients are in need of housing and health services. Therefore, we are very grateful for our partnerships with external organizations that allow us to maximize the help we can provide.
Our partners at Housing Connector provide clients facing housing instability with below-market-rate housing. The NW Furniture Bank provides people with furniture at no cost. The Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences offers forensic psychological examinations to individuals seeking various forms of immigration relief, including asylum and withholding of removal.
While there is much more work to be done to provide our community with the social services support they need, we are immensely grateful to our supporters for making this work possible.