BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Halimo Omar Muse was born in Somalia and said when she was young her family left the violence there and moved to Kenya. She shared her experiences with 7 News' Kristen Mirand alongside a translator from Refugee and Immigrant Self-Empowerment, RISE.
"She said that there were issues having brothers being killed or mothers being abused," the translator said.
Muse moved to Buffalo in 2004 and now lives in Buffalo with her family. She said she's happy to be here and finally have RISE in her community.
"They've been able to help her," the translator added.
RISE officially opened a Buffalo location at 412 Niagara Street on Wednesday, celebrating with a ribbon cutting. Executive Director Haji Adan, a former refugee himself, said it's incredible since the next closest office is in Syracuse.
"It's a very step forward for our organization," Adan said.
Adan said once refugees and immigrants finish meeting with post-settlement services there's no place to go, so RISE is a bridge to help people like Muse.
"A lot of refugees here are struggling to make sure that they find employment services bridging case management services and access to opportunities and resources," Adan said.
He added that about 90 percent of his staff are refugees themselves who speak more than 30 languages so they can accommodate whoever needs help.
"When refugees come here they feel at home it's like a hometown association for them and they come and they love with the staff members," Adan said.
