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Community Programs

Georgia

Located just outside of Atlanta is a small city named Clarkston that’s earned the nickname “Ellis Island of the South” due to the tens of thousands of refugees who made it their first American home. As a result, Clarkston has become one of the most beautifully diverse communities in America. The Their Story is Our Story (TSOS) Community Programs team in Georgia is actively engaged with local nonprofit organizations, serving in the community, and developing opportunities for collecting and sharing refugee stories.

Demographics
ARRIVALS

FY 2017-2021 data source: Refugee Processing Center: Arrivals and Admissions, figures exclude Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) from Afghanistan and Iraq, and does not include Afghan Humanitarian Parolees from the 2021 evacuation.

FY 2022 data: 818 refugee, 281 SIV, 1,811 Afghan Humanitarian Parolees, 2,508 Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolees

TOP COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN
TOP NEWCOMER LANGUAGES
  • Ukrainian
  • Dari
  • Pashto
  • French
  • Arabic
  • Burmese

FY 2022 data source: Languages based on the official and/or most common language of arrivals’ country of origin.

Story Gallery

Are you interested in sharing your story with us? We’re in the process of collecting stories of the people who call Georgia home.

Share Your Story
Blog Posts
Learn more about our work and our team.
Cato Graph 1
 The Real Cost of Immigration July 1, 2026
Story Shield Workshop Edited
 Preparedness Before Crisis June 25, 2026
A Broken Promise Refugees in America
 A Broken Promise: Refugees in America March 31, 2026
More blog posts
Events
Join us at an upcoming local or virtual event.

We're building our calendar of upcoming events. Check back soon or subscribe to our email list for updates.

Partners
Volunteer alongside our team with these local organizations.
Leadership
Get to know our Georgia leadership team.
Kandace
Kandace Hyland
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Contact Us
Reach out to our local team with any questions. We love to connect with people interested in welcoming newcomers to our community.
What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2025, more than 117.8 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced by war, persecution, or human rights abuses — and 45 million of them are children.

They arrive in refugee camps and countries seeking safety and carrying little: legal papers, if they're lucky. A backpack. A child's hand in theirs.

What they carry that we can't see is heavier: fractured families, homes they'll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

In a climate where immigrant stories are often ignored or twisted, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares what they survived, they reclaim their voice. When we amplify it through film, photography, and advocacy, the world listens. Hearts soften. Policy begins to shift.

Because when a lawmaker sees a person instead of a statistic, and a neighbor understands instead of fears, rebuilding becomes possible.

Your support helps us share these stories where they matter most.

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, Their Story is Our Story

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Their Story is Our Story is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization under the United States Internal Revenue Code. All donations are tax-deductible. Our tax identification number is 812983626.