Chaldean American Ladies of Charity

PROUDLY SERVING OUR COMMUNITY FOR OVER 60 YEARS

Why Our Work Matters: 

With 63 years of experience, UCFS-CALC has a unique first-hand perspective on the importance of long-term support for refugees. Many resettlement services, while crucial, end just nine months after arrival in the U.S., making it difficult for refugees to ensure their own well-being and become productive members of their new community. As the “next step” for our clients, we focus on post-resettlement support to facilitate long-term integration.

While we primarily serve refugees, UCFS-CALC strives to embrace all clients by designating resources for those who do not qualify under other funding requirements.  This enables us to serve a broader range of people in need, as we believe that if someone takes the step of asking for help to reach their goals, they need and deserve our assistance to do so. 

Our Story: 

The Chaldean American Ladies of Charity (CALC) was founded in 1961 by 20 women from refugee and immigrant households seeking to support other new Americans in rebuilding their lives. CALC has since grown from an all-volunteer agency into a robust organization providing wrap-around social services. In 2016, the Board adopted the name United Community Family Services (UCFS) to represent our goal of supporting the broader community as a whole. Over 60 years since its founding, UCFS continues to carry out its mission of providing programs that guide, support, and empower individuals to achieve self-sufficiency with dignity and hope. 

Our Clients: 

UCFS-CALC serves over 12,000 people in Michigan annually with the vast majority being immigrants, refugees, and asylees.  From the beginning, clients are active participants in determining their goals and developing their plans for success. We work with children, adults, and elderly clients, customizing our programs to appropriately support each family and individual.

Our Staff: 

At UCFS-CALC, 95% of our team were once immigrants, refugees, or asylees themselves, and the majority are fluent in the most common languages spoken by the community members we serve. Having navigated many of the same challenges as our clients, UCFS-CALC staff members are uniquely qualified to provide linguistically accessible services to refugees and asylees with unmatched cultural competence, empathy, and understanding. 

Our Programs: 

UCFS-CALC prides itself on providing truly wrap-around programs and services to holistically support our clients in reaching their goals.  Through personalized support, UCFS-CALC offers in-house programs such as citizenship and integration, afterschool tutoring, summer youth sports, nutrition education, maternal health education, elderly refugee, and life skills programs. UCFS-CALC also provides employment services, including re-credentialing, resume preparation, and job placement assistance; individualized one-on-one financial coaching; translation and interpretation; healthcare navigation; benefits application assistance; and more. 

Our Impact in 2024:

• 979 families served through the food pantry
• 258,842 pounds of food distributed through the food pantry
• 30% increase in pounds of food distributed since 2023 
• 23,247 Basic Need items distributed from the Sharehouse
• 14 individuals became U.S. citizens
• 64 elderly clients served through senior programs
• 78 children participated in Project Achievement and Summer Youth Sports Programs
• 876 hours donated by volunteers