The Charlotte is Home Center (CIHC) is one of Charlotte’s newest collaborative hubs. This woman-led organization is a beacon of hope that empowers immigrant and refugee families with educational resources, pro-bono legal representation, and healthcare to help them begin a new life in the United States.
The CIHC was formed in 2021 when Aldersgate Retirement Community offered ourBRIDGE for KIDS a 5,838 sq ft building at 3400 Shamrock Drive in Charlotte, North Carolina. ourBRIDGE then contacted two other organizations aligned with its mission: Charlotte Community Health Clinic (CCHC) and Carolina Migrant Network (CMN). Those three organizations formed the Charlotte is Home Center, a one-stop shop providing essential services for Charlotte’s foreign-born and newly arrived populations.
Charlotte is growing rapidly, and its foreign-born population has dramatically increased in the last twenty years. In 2000, Charlotte’s foreign-born population was 11%. Today, it is 17%, or an estimated 150,000 people, according to the US Census Bureau. The influx of newly arrived people and families has precipitated a need for resources and services like Charlotte is Home Center.
Sil Ganzó founded ourBRIDGE, an organization that offers culturally responsive, trauma-informed services to refugee and immigrant children and their families. Their services aim to help newly arrived children and families adjust and thrive. According to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) has over 25,000 English learner (EL) students who speak over 200 languages. The rise in EL students makes ourBRIDGE’s work essential for newly arrived families who are settling into their new lives. ourBRIDGE provides family support services, which increase immigrant and refugees’ access to critical resources, cultural pride, socio-emotional well-being, and personal advocacy. They offer experienced-based after-school programs and summer programs.
When ourBRIDGE for KIDS had the opportunity to utilize more space, they reached out to another mission–aligned organization, the Charlotte Community Health Clinic (CCHC). Dr. Ophelia Garmon-Brown and Nancy Hudson founded CCHC. It started as a free clinic in 2000 and has grown into a community health center. CCHC offers medical care, dentistry, behavioral health, a 24/7 nurse line, and telehealth. Today, the CCHC is led by CEO Carolyn Allison, who provides healthcare services to the most vulnerable people in Charlotte. No one is turned away because of their legal status, insurance status, or income. At the Charlotte is Home Center, CCHC will have a satellite clinic named the Ophelia Gamon-Brown Medical Clinic, featuring pediatric and adult primary care specifically focused on immigrant and refugee populations and the local community.
The Carolina Migrant Network (CMN) is the third partner in the endeavor, that is the Charlotte is Home Center. CMN, founded by Stefanía Arteaga and Becca O’Neill in 2019, has rapidly expanded its reach. It is the only organization providing complete pro-bono legal representation for non-detained and detained immigrants in the Carolinas, and it has expanded to other southern states like Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia. Mecklenburg County has the highest number of pending court cases at 22,900, with just 4,219 cases having legal representation. The likelihood of having legal representation during deportation proceedings in Mecklenburg County is 18.4%.
According to Stefania Arteaga, one of the organization’s co-founders, CMN quantifies its impact through the cost that families would have to pay for legal support. From CMN’s founding in 2019 to 2024, they have helped families save over $2.5 million. Arteaga wants to ensure that people “regardless of background, regardless of society’s perception of their worth, know that they are entitled to legal representation, and they are worthy of it because everyone is worthy of legal representation.”
For newly arriving families, CIHC is a one-stop shop where they can receive everything from pro-bono legal representation to medical care and after-school programs for children. The dedication and commitment of those three organizations make the CIHC a women-led collaborative hub that serves some of the most vulnerable and at-risk communities in the Charlotte Mecklenburg area. CIHC is a valuable resource for Charlotte and another gem in the Queen City’s crown as the organization helps newcomers begin their new lives in Charlotte and the United States.
