Causes: Ethnic & Immigrant Centers, Human Services, Immigration

Mission: The mission of ajapo is to provide refugees and immigrants a continuum of care which empowers them to become self-sufficient and integrated into the greater pittsburgh community and allegheny county.

Programs: 1. Refugee resettlement - in this program, ajapo provides services such as counseling, training, orientation, and support to the legal refugees and immigrants from the african nations and afro-caribbean origins necessary to enable them to acculturate within the american society

2. Refugee employment and social services - one of the common attributes of refugees coming to the united states is being hard working and ready to learn persons. They want to take responsibility for their families and become economically self-sufficient through employment as quickly as possible after arrival. As populations with government's approved eligibility to work anywhere in the united states, they take credible pride in their joys and do not take their responsibilities lightly. Ajapos's employment services assist refugees to accomplish these aspirations by connecting refugees to employers in the greater pittsburgh area.

3. Family cohesion (fcep) - this program provides entire families (parents & children) with coping skills for adjustments in their new environment. The program is case management based and is a direct service for service coordination to refugees and immigrant families. Both the family and the community needs are addressed through the support, intervention, and advocacy provided by ajapo. In addition, interpretation services are provided where and when needed to ensure greater effectiveness of service delivery. Housing, healthcare, employment education, and welfare referrals and support are provided. Home visits are made to families on a monthly basis, and there is a provision for intensive case management for those families who may need it.

4. Immigration assistance - under this program, ajapo provides services to individuals and families who migrate from africa and afro-caribbean to the united states as refugees and immigrants. These refugees/immigrants have come to america legally through the approval of the federal government of the united states. Trends show that over the years, the refugees have suffered discrimination, hunger, and loss of family members. These situations have exasperated their exposure to deteriorating health conditions and continuous violence in refugee camps. Ajapo serves these populations through provisions of acculturation, medical outreach, human services, counseling, and nurturing. 5. Youth development - the youth development program provides children and youth with mechanisms to adapt to their new environment, resources and life skills which help them to build their individual strengths, self-esteem, and the determination to have a focus on their dreams. Career development, arts, and creativity are also encouraged through training, observation, and opportunities given to the children and youth. In collaboration with k-12 schools and colleges, ajapo provides acculturation support training to students, faculty, and staff to enhance refugee/immigrant students' education, and reduce conflicts within the school and college environment.