This March, the 探花精选 in Silver Spring moved to 8737 Colesville Road in Silver Spring and rebranded as the 探花精选 in Silver Spring: Welcome Center for Immigrants and Refugees. After 17 years of service, the 探花精选 in Silver Spring reflects on its history and growth in the community. Tin Tin Oo, Operations Manager at the 探花精选 in Silver Spring said: 

The new 探花精选 in Silver Spring office has an exceptional openness and brightness that serves to energize staff, clients and partners. We're remarkably lucky to occupy a space that promotes and fosters a spirit of togetherness, hope, and collaboration.

The 探花精选 in Silver Spring opened in July 2006, becoming the second 探花精选 office in Maryland following the 探花精选 in Baltimore. Five years later, the 探花精选 in Silver Spring joined a coalition of refugee-serving organizations to form the Suburban Washington Resettlement Center (SWRC).  The coalition aimed to create a 鈥渙ne-stop shop鈥 where refugees could access all the services they required under one roof.  As each organization grew to serve larger numbers of immigrants, our partners moved to their own locations in Silver Spring. Despite this, the 探花精选 in Silver Spring continues to collaborate with our partner agencies.  

Due to the current administration鈥檚 commitment to rebuild the refugee resettlement program and the humanitarian crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine, the 探花精选 in Silver Spring doubled to more than 80 staff members, creating a need for more office space.  At the same time, the office now serves a much wider range of humanitarian immigrants including Afghan and Ukrainian humanitarian parolees, Cuban-Haitian entrants, asylees, Special Immigrant Visa-holders, and survivors of human trafficking. Similarly, the types of services that the 探花精选 offers expanded to include financial coaching, children鈥檚 legal services, asylum applications, and pre-K education support.  

Ruben Chandrasekar, 探花精选鈥檚 Acting Regional Director, shared: 

The growth in programs, clients served and the support of our partners, volunteers and staff members, the 探花精选 in Silver Spring is proud to re-brand as the 探花精选 in Silver Spring: Welcome Center for Immigrants and Refugees. Through this initiative, we hope to better represent ourselves as a resource, not just for refugees, but for all humanitarian immigrants and asylum seekers joining our community in Maryland.