Hello Neighbor works to improve the lives of recently resettled refugee families by matching them with dedicated neighbors to guide and support them in their new lives.
Donate Now50 matches between recently resettled refugee families and Pittsburghers.
2,000 mentoring hours spent together. That’s an average of 10 hours per month!
500 Individual activities including exploring Pittsburgh and critical life skills support.
20 Hello Neighbor community events including global potluck picnics, education programming and advocacy training.
We are a nonprofit organization based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania committed to supporting our newest neighbors, recently resettled refugee families. The families we support all have kids under 18 in the home while our mentors range from young professionals to families and seniors. We proudly engage entire families to make Hello Neighbor a family-focused volunteer opportunity.
At the core of Hello Neighbor is our mentorship program matching refugee families with caring neighbors. Mentors serve as welcome wagons and support the refugee families to help them feel more comfortable and confident in their new lives.
Many new arrivals face extreme isolation and lack a support system or to help them learn about American culture including language, navigating a new city, and how to understand life’s challenges.
Hello Neighbor provided our family with an amazing opportunity, and our mentee family opened up our minds and our hearts. They are truly unbelievable people and have changed us as people throughout this program!
We had the opportunity to put our values into action, to build friendships that enrich our lives and help others in the process. What more could you ask for?!
Hello Neighbor gave me confidence and helped us make many American friends. My family is very happy and in love with Pittsburgh because of this program!
Hello Neighbor helped my family feel welcome in Pittsburgh. We received help with moving, writing a resume, enrolling our daughter in her new school. Thank you!
Our first cohort in 2017 included 25 matches — 25 recently resettled refugee families and 25 Pittsburgh families. The refugees originated from 7 countries — Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Congo, Rwanda, Myanmar and Bhutan. The mentors live in 23 different zip codes. This was truly a Pittsburgh community effort!
As we built this program, something we came back to over and over again is that the word refugee is a label. But refugees are much more than that. They are mothers and daughters and husbands and sons. They are students and soccer players. They are Pittsburghers. They are our neighbors. We started asking them to share how they would identify themselves and asked our mentors too. Their answers inspired us to create this video.
We are excited to introduce you to Hello Neighbor's second cohort of 25 matches. The mentees include refugee families from 4 countries - Myanmar, Bhutan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Syria. Mentors come from a variety of Pittsburgh neighborhoods, truly spanning the whole city.
Sign up for our email newsletter for information on Hello Neighbor including how to become a mentor or mentee, invitations to community events and educational resources about refugees issues in the news.
Sign up for Hello Neighbor’s email newsletter for more information on how to become part of the growing Hello Neighbor community, invitations, and educational resources about refugees issues in the news.