Our History

Founded in 1995 by Sister Elise Silvestri of the School Sisters of Notre Dame as Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Program, our original mission was to increase the independence and reduce the isolation of immigrant and refugee women by teaching basic English and practical living skills in the security of their own homes. From serving 8 Vietnamese women in 1995, the program has grown to serve 359 individuals in 2023. The organization functioned as a ministry of School Sister of Notre Dame until 2006 when it became a separate 501c(3) organization. Pat Joshu was named director in 2006, and she remained the director for 12 years. The organization’s second Executive Director, Julie Fox, was named in 2018. The Board of Directors underwent a three year Strategic Planning process in 2019. Following the planning, IRWP decided to re-brand to Immigrant Home English Learning Program (IHELP) in 2020. In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IHELP team worked to move the program to a virtual platform. This allowed our student to continue their learning without interruption. The program continues to operate in a hybrid format.