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Our Story

RRRS began as an offshoot of Mary’s Place Refugee Outreach Center. Mary’s Place focused on immediate and basic needs, and as refugees became more acclimated to living in Rochester there arose a need to help them become self-sufficient.

Many of these folks were living in substandard housing and were unaware of how to correct the situation. RRRS began and continues to function as an agency trying to “fill the gaps” that are not covered by other agencies. The overall goal is to help our new Americans become self-sufficient using a complimentary approach of all agencies.

Our basis is social enterprise – using housing as our mainstay. It provides stable income support complementing grants and donations and as landlords we get to know our families on a holistic basis. Success with housing families generates referrals by them to the rest of their communities.

Look at some of the programs that we offer to get a better feel of what RRRS is all about.