What We Do
The Brave House is a community of support for young immigrant and refugee women and gender-expansive youth, ages 16-24, in New York City, with a focus on survivors of gender-based violence.

We provide free legal aid, community events, and holistic services, including leadership training, one-on-one advocacy, mental health support, job and school assistance, support for new and expecting moms, and much more. Each year we reach 350+ immigrant youth from 35+ countries around the world.

Our History
Launched in 2018, the Brave House was born out of our founder's work as an immigration attorney at another non-profit in New York, where she gained a unique perspective regarding the complex challenges that immigrant children face and the gaps in access to crucial services such as help with school, health insurance, mental health services, housing, and finding community.  ​​ 

​Innovation
As the only non-profit in NYC to work exclusively with young immigrant women and gender-expansive youth, the Brave House is able to provide tailored services designed for this population. This focus helps facilitate a cohesive community, specialized legal strategies, and impactful events.
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The youth we work with co-create, lead, and design our programs. We believe that the impacted population should be at the forefront of decision-making. In addition to our Board of Directors and Advisory Board, consisting primarily of immigrants, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community, we have a Youth Leadership Board consisting of current Brave House members. This board prioritizes the voices of our members and drives us to implement their ideas into our strategic planning. ​

Our Services

 

Our focus on young immigrant women and gender-expansive youth ages 16-24 allows us to provide tailored, trauma-informed services, facilitate a cohesive community of young people with shared experiences, and hone specialized legal strategies. Having a narrowly focused target population helps ensure that our events and programs are inclusive, accessible, and impactful. Our advocacy gives our members the tools and tailored support systems to thrive, lead, and belong in New York City. Click below to explore our services.

 

Legal Advocacy

At our core, the Brave House ensures that our members receive the humanitarian protections that they deserve through free and trauma-informed legal advocacy. We want to not only provide young immigrant women with attorneys, but also bridge the gap in legal literacy for this population - demonstrating to our members that they deserve to have an informed and active role in their case.

 

Mental Health Support

We engage in mental health advocacy from many different angles, because we know that mental health is at the center of our members’ daily lives and greatly impacts their relationships to school, work, family, and self. We believe that on-site support in a space they are already comfortable with is an effective and impactful way of reaching our community.

 

Jobs, School, and Leadership Support

We’re committed to creating spaces for professional, educational, and personal growth that are inclusive and nurturing. Our goal is to break down barriers and provide the long-term skills and platform to spark change and access economic mobility and freedom. 

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Community

We ​host monthly community events, provide holistic advocacy, support new moms, have a welcoming drop-in center, and a private Mobile App.

We emphasize joy practices, or infusions of intentional love and fun, in every aspect of our work at the Brave House. We believe that providing our community with spaces to experience fun and liveliness plants seeds of worth and possibility in young immigrants. 

Our Values

Safety
A space where women and gender-expansive youth are free from violence and fear.

Wellness
Community events and holistic services that promote healing and self-confidence.

Self-determination 
Immediate aid and long-term support to ensure that members have the mobility and freedom to pursue dreams of their own choosing and live a life where they are not just surviving, but thriving.

Dignity
A space where everyone is valued, listened to, and treated with respect and inclusivity.

Belonging
A focus on building community and fostering a sense of sisterhood.  

Our Why

Women across the world face violence and discrimination due to their gender, in fact, 1 in 3 women face some type of sexual harm in their lifetime. Young people fleeing this gender-based violence arrive in the United States and do not have the right to a free attorney to advocate for the protection of their human rights. Unaccompanied children with legal representation are more than seven times more likely to remain in this country than those without legal support. ​

In addition to legal advocacy, our members join the Brave House because young immigrant women in New York City do not have meaningful access to social services and a community of peers. The lack of support places these young people at risk of re-traumatization, as many are unaccompanied minors who are also survivors of abuse and navigating life in this country on their own.

Through supporting immigrant youth of color who are at the margins of power with both immediate aid (food, housing) and long-term needs (employment, therapy, leadership, citizenship), we are disrupting cycles of intergenerational violence and poverty. Many community members are navigating systems that are built to exclude them while juggling school, motherhood, employment, immigration cases, and learning English. We seek to bridge access to mobility and freedom, and co-create a space where young women and gender-expansive youth can connect with other youth, heal from their past trauma, and develop skills for long-term happiness and success.

​Listen to a Brave House member describe why she decided to join us. 

Country Map​

Below is a map with all Brave House members' countries of origin!

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement

 

The Brave House is committed to co-creating spaces where youth from all backgrounds can connect, heal, and grow together. Our community celebrates young people from all over the world, and we welcome youth who identify as female and gender-expansive. We believe that members should be at the forefront of decision-making and determining what programs we offer, how we approach issues that affect their communities, and how the organization is led. We strive to foster belonging for the community we serve and are active in our effort to seek and center diverse perspectives within our team.