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 10 years,
we have served over 12,500 immigrants
from 108 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
Life 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 MoreBiden Administration gives more flexibility for resolving Immigration Court cases
On July 15, 2021 Attorney General Merrick Garland restored the authority of immigration judges nationwide to pause and remove low priority immigration cases from the backlog of immigration court cases. There are now more than 1.3 million cases pending in Immigration Courts – a backlog that doubled under Trump. This decision issued in Matter of…
Read MoreNew DACA applicants back in limbo
It was a brief breath of fresh air for many Dreamers. In January, the government started accepting new DACA applicants for the first time since early in the Trump era. These are all persons who arrived as children and have been in the U.S. since at least 2007. On July 16, a federal judge in…
Read MoreNew hope for asylum claimants
On June 16th U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland reversed restrictions on asylum eligibility imposed by the Trump administration. Garland’s decision means that Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security will return to pre-Trump era immigration policies and guidelines for asylum protection. Individuals fleeing gender-based violence, gang brutality, and persecution because of familial ties…
Read MoreSupreme Court deals setback to TPS holders
On June 7th, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Sanchez v. Mayorkas that immigrants who entered the U.S. without inspection and were subsequently granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) cannot qualify for permanent residency without leaving the country. The Court ruled that Adjustment of Status to obtain lawful permanent residency in the U.S. is solely for noncitizens who were inspected at the border and admitted by an immigration officer. Therefore, a majority of the approximate…
Read MoreSetback for TPS holders
On June 7, the Supreme Court ruled in Sanchez v. Mayorkas that those immigrants who entered the U.S. without inspection and were subsequently granted temporary protected status (“TPS”) cannot be granted Green Cards without first leaving the country. Therefore, a majority of the approximate 400,000 TPS holders currently in the U.S. will not be able to…
Read MoreB1C honors Judge Robert Katzmann, distinguished jurist and founder of Immigrant Justice Corps
Building One Community honors the memory of Judge Robert A. Katzmann, who died this past week. Among his many professional and personal contributions, Judge Katzmann created the Immigrant Justice Corps, a program that enables recent law school graduates to gain in-depth experience in immigration law and represent immigrants that are facing nearly impossible odds for…
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 8 AM to 4 PM
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.
