Our Mission
Building One Community's mission is to advance the successful integration of immigrants and their families.
Our Vision
One welcoming community in which all immigrants are thriving and contributing members.
Our Promise
We deliver compassionate service to make all immigrants feel welcome and to enrich the entire community.
B1C helps immigrants become self-sufficient contributors to the community.
As an organization solely dedicated to this underserved population, our mission of advancing the successful integration of immigrants and their families resonates among clients, donors, and volunteers. We engage the community in our work and in ongoing dialogue about the benefits and challenges immigrants bring to our community.
In more than 11 years,
we have served over 13,500 immigrants
from 115 different countries.
We are a hub, where volunteers and community partner organizations offer their experience and expertise to local immigrants in a safe, welcoming place, where people learn from each other, and unmet needs are satisfied.
Through Building One Community, immigrants acquire the tools they need to be self-sufficient and successful, strengthening their families and the entire Stamford community in the process.
At B1C we provide free services that educate, employ, empower and engage immigrants and the broader community.
Our programs include:
- ELL Programs
- Family and Individual Support Services
- Parent Organizing Program POWER
- Immigration Legal Services
- Workforce Development Program
2020 IN NUMBERS
$0
given out in emergency food & rental assistance.0
clients receive on-site and online consultations from ILS0
ELL learners participated in on-site and online classes.0
participants in our skills development programs.0
volunteers have supported us during the pandemic.
OUR PROGRAMS
Learn English
A common language is essential to being part of a community.
Individual and Family Services
Finding sources of support is crucial for immigrants settling into new lives.
School Services
Parent involvement in the school community helps children succeed.
Adult Literacy
Making sense of many different kinds of communications is a valuable skill.
Learn Skills & Get Hired
Focused, specialized training helps immigrants become employable more quickly.
Immigration Legal Services
Information and support to help immigrants navigate the complicated legal immigration system.
IMMIGRATION NEWS
USCIS reduces bureaucratic burden for some immigrants
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made a small but positive change in granting work permits for certain immigrants in the U.S. on humanitarian grounds. USCIS extended the validity of work permits, known as EADs, from one year to two years for applicants who were admitted as refugees, granted asylum, granted withholding of deportation or…
Read MoreA fresh look at Biden’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy
President Biden’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ (formally known as the Migrant Protection Policy ‘MPP’) bears little resemblance to the Trump administration’s version. When President Biden took office, he stopped the policy which required asylum seekers at the southern border to remain in Mexico until their cases were heard. In September 2021, a U.S. District Court ordered…
Read MoreBiden restarts ‘Remain in Mexico’ program
Last week, the Biden Administration reinstated the infamous Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), commonly referred to as “Remain in Mexico.” Under the program, asylum seekers attempting to enter the United States at the southern border must remain in Mexico until they are called for a hearing. The Biden Administration had previously tried to terminate…
Read MoreConnecticut’s unauthorized immigrant population estimates
The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) released its latest comprehensive estimates of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States. Connecticut’s unauthorized population was 113,000, or roughly 3.2% of the state’s total population. 61,000 live in Fairfield County. Of the total, 55% have been in the U.S. for 10 or more years. The largest share come…
Read MoreNaturalization rates rebound from COVID
The number of people who became naturalized US citizens substantially increased in 2021. According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), 808,000 individuals naturalized in the 2021 fiscal year which ended on September 30, 2021. In the fiscal year 2020, only 625,400 people naturalized. This increase follows Covid-19 pandemic office reopenings and the Biden…
Read MoreBiden ‘Remains in Mexico’ to the dismay of many
On October 15, 2021, the Biden administration announced its decision to reinstate Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy to take effect in November. The policy requires migrants to remain in Mexico pending their asylum hearings. Earlier this year the Biden administration terminated the policy. Then the states of Texas and Missouri sued, the federal court ordered…
Read MoreLife under ‘extreme hardship’
From New York Magazine, a very well-told story of the family trauma inflicted by our irrational immigration laws. This is a story about how we came to understand and experience immigration law – what it’s like to feel the awful weight of the state in your daily life, pressing suddenly on the most intimate of…
Read MoreNew proposed DACA regulations are a modest step forward
The Department of Homeland Security published proposed new regulations for the DACA program. This is the first step in trying to get DACA established via the normal federal regulatory process. The original DACA program was created by a memo of the Secretary of Homeland Security in2012, rather than through legislation or a regulation based on…
Read MoreConnecticut’s population diversity continues to increase
Connecticut grew substantially more diverse in the past decade, based on newly released Census data. The Hispanic and Latino population increased from 13.4% to 17.3%. The Black population increased from 10.1% to 10.8%. The Asian population grew from 3.8% to 4.8%. Non-Hispanic whites decreased from 77.6% of the total in 2010 to 66.4% in 2020. …
Read MoreTowards more humane treatment of immigrant crime victims
On August 11, 2021 the Biden administration issued guidance instructing U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement (ICE) to stop the detention and deportation of immigrants who were victims of crime. ICE described the new policy as a “victim-centered approach.” ICE Director Tae Johnson said the guidance may help immigrants come forward to assist in investigations. “When…
Read MoreVisit Us
Our address
75 Selleck Street, Stamford, CT 06902
Phone
(203) 674-8585
We are open
Monday - Thursday from 8 AM to 7 PM;
Friday and Saturday from 8 AM to 6 PM;
Sunday from 9 AM to 5 PMCovid-19 Protocols and FAQs
Learn about our Covid-19 protocols and find answers related to our program changes.
Ximena
Colombia
I like B1C because it’s a place of support, where they teach immigrants, like myself, how to navigate the Anglo Saxon community.
Mario
Guatemala
B1C is a place of opportunity for people to get a job and learn English. You get help and guidance on what you need.
Patricia
Guatemala
B1C is like a big family. They help us in our needs. I appreciate very much the support that they have given me. I have progressed on my English skills.
Dolman
Guatemala
My experience - they were very lovely, it's a good service, excellent people, they wait on you very well. They always treated me so well.
Amal
Morocco
B1C set my children and I on the right way, illuminating it with aid and guidance, giving me the tools needed to persist and setting us on a path towards success.
