*Tahira and Allison, ANSP Team Members, delivering certificates of completion to the Digital Skills class students.*

On September 25, families, students, staff, volunteers, and partners gathered at the Islamic Center of Riverside for the HMI Programs Impact Ceremony. The evening marked the end of our Afghan Newcomer Support Program (ANSP) and gave us a chance to do something we don't do often enough: stop and celebrate the people who did the hard work.

Thank you to the Islamic Center of Riverside for opening your doors to us, and to our partners at Sahaba Initiative, IEHP, Catholic Charities, and the Community Translational Research Institute (CTRI) for standing with us.

Every family met their goals

Each ANSP family worked with our team to build a family self-sufficiency plan, starting with three goals they chose for themselves on the path to independence. Some goals were about English. Some were about finding work, getting a driver's permit, or learning to navigate schools, clinics, and county services on their own.

At the ceremony, we handed out certificates to every family. And we got to share a number we're proud of: 100% of our ANSP families completed the three goals in their plan. Many went further. Once they reached their first goals, they sat down with our team, reevaluated, set new ones, and completed those too.

That number belongs to the families: the parents who went to class after long days, filled out the forms, made the calls, and kept going when things were hard. It also would not have been possible without our ANSP team, especially our community liaisons. They served as mentors, guides, and sometimes just a listening ear on what is often a long road to independence in an unfamiliar place.

Our digital skills and driver's permit students

*Our incredible volunteers helping out once again*

We also recognized two of our smaller cohorts.

Our women's digital skills class started with the basics: using a phone or computer with confidence, setting up email, and getting around online. Many of these women never had the chance to learn these skills in Afghanistan. The class gave them the technology, the time to practice, and the confidence to handle job applications, school portals, health appointments, and everyday life in the U.S. on their own terms.

Our driver's permit education students prepared for the written permit test, and at least four of them have already passed and earned their permits. In a county as spread out as Riverside, a license can mean the difference between depending on rides and getting yourself to work, school, and the grocery store.

Both classes were built and taught by our own team member Tahira, who put the lessons together and taught them in Pashto and English with help from our Pashto-speaking volunteers. Both groups earned their certificates, and it was a joy to watch them walk up and receive them.

Two special guests

We were lucky to hear from two guest speakers who work closely with newcomer families in our region.

Rabia from Sahaba Initiative talked about the support families can keep turning to after ANSP ends, with a focus on mental health. She introduced Sahaba's new program, Bridging to New Beginnings: free monthly gatherings that connect newcomer families to local resources, healthcare, and social services, and help them build a network of support. Families can also reach Sahaba for culturally responsive mental health counseling.

Dr. Reshtin, a Community Health Worker with IEHP, walked families through the community health resources available to them and how to access them through IEHP. He spoke about the importance of wellness and the steps families can take to stay healthy.

Meanwhile, the kids had their own party

Most of the people ANSP serves are children, so we made sure the evening worked for them too. While their parents were being celebrated, the kids built with Legos, colored, watched a movie, and spent time with our staff and volunteers.

It meant parents could sit, listen, and enjoy a moment that was about them. And from the noise level in the kids' room, nobody there was bored.

A big thank you to the volunteers who ran activities, helped with setup and cleanup, and made the whole night possible.

Dinner, made by our families

After the certificates were handed out, we sat down to a potluck dinner cooked by our ANSP families, with dishes from home filling the tables. The kids had pizza.

Thank you to our community partner Catholic Charities of Riverside for providing 30 food boxes for families to take home at the end of the night.

In their words

Ahead of the ceremony, one ANSP parent wrote us a letter. Here are a few parts of it.

"Before coming to HMI, I could not even make a doctor's appointment for myself or for a family member. Today, because of the guidance and support I received from HMI, I am able to make medical appointments for myself and my family and handle many other daily tasks on my own, such as shopping, visiting a mechanic, and solving many everyday problems. These things may seem simple to some people, but for a newly arrived immigrant, being able to do them independently is a very meaningful achievement."

"You did not simply teach us English or job-related skills. You gave us confidence, hope, and the belief that we are capable of building a better life."

"For me, HMI was not simply an office or an educational program. HMI was a bridge between a life filled with uncertainty and a life with greater hope, confidence, and independence."

An Afghan immigrant and a grateful member of the HMI community

Two years of ANSP

ANSP comes to a close at the end of fiscal year 2026. For nearly two years, the program worked alongside Afghan newcomer families in Riverside County as they built new lives here. That meant English support, help finding jobs, guidance through community resources, and a lot of everyday problem-solving in Dari and Pashto.

The goal was always self-sufficiency: families who can stand on their own and know where to turn when they need something. Looking around the room on September 25, we saw exactly that.

Our community liaison, Friba, often says that HMI is like a home to our clients. We are glad to know our families feel that way, because our whole HMI team does too.

To our ANSP families: thank you for trusting us. We're proud of you, and we're not going anywhere. You're still part of the HMI community.

To our partners, volunteers, and supporters: thank you for making this work possible. If you'd like to stay involved with HMI's work with newcomer families, visit HMIR.org or contact us at info@hmir.org.

Stay tuned to learn more about ANSP's impact in our community.

Celebrating Our ANSP Families: A Look Back at the HMI Programs Impact Ceremony