The Pennsylvania Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Network, or PAIRWN, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the well-being of immigrant and refugee communities in Pennsylvania. 

As the first organization in Pennsylvania to focus directly on immigrant and refugee women’s issues, PAIRWN has a crucial and ground-breaking mission.

Our Members

PAIRWN’s members are women from all over the world who have made Pennsylvania their home. We are successfully working in local immigrant and refugee communities and forging partnerships with individuals and communities, nonprofit organizations, legal services, government organizations, school and universities, businesses, and media outlets.

Our organization is led and managed by immigrant and refugee women from diverse backgrounds. PAIRWN is a collaborative project for self-empowerment between these women, their families and friends, and the broader immigrant and refugee communities of Pennsylvania.

Our Work

Our work is crucial to supplement the notable achievements in housing, employment, and health screenings completed in those first few years after arrival.

Access to continued translation and interpretation services, healthcare resources, ESL classes, transportation, and job training; continued work on immigration paperwork; opportunities to retain cultural heritage and share traditions with young children; resources for remedying experiences with discrimination, domestic violence, and sexual assault; and developing leadership skills in a new country – all these needs, among many others, go beyond the definition of an initial successful placement.

Immigrant and refugee women can continue to struggle, to remain isolated by cultural, linguistic, and financial barriers for years after their arrival in the United States. Without our work, many of these women would struggle alone.

Who We Serve

PAIRWN seeks to meet the needs of a large and under-served population. We seek to provide women with support and a voice. In helping women, we often work with families as a whole and with people of all ages, genders, nationalities, races, and religions.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Pennsylvania is home to a foreign-born population of over 565,000 people. PAIRWN currently serves the immigrant and refugee communities of Central Pennsylvania in the six counties of Dauphin, Cumberland, Lancaster, York, Lebanon, and Perry surrounding the state capital of Harrisburg. Many people within this population have limited English language skills; many live at or below poverty level.

Leadership and decision-making responsibilities are reserved for immigrant and refugee women. However, all people interested in our mission and projects are welcome to become members and partner with our organization.

For More Information

PAIRWN provides services regardless of an individual’s ability to pay.

Our official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.