Sukkat Shalom (Shelter of Peace) is Temple Micah’s initiative to welcome refugees and migrants to the United States and to our community. This work enables us to fulfill the commandment for Jews to love our neighbors.
Sukkat Shalom responds to the increasingly difficult situation facing migrants and refugees seeking a safe and secure life for themselves and their families.
For more information contact sukkatshalom@templemicah.org. Click here to support our work.
Extend a welcoming hand! Contact us at sukkatshalom@templemicah.org for current volunteer opportunities.
Bring gift cards to services or to the Micah office now through Hanukkah! Sukkat Shalom suggests cards from all affordable grocery stores in the DMV, as well as Walmart, Target, CVS and Visa/Mastercard gift cards. Please include your name and email and note the dollar amount on the card. We will distribute them to partner organizations providing emergency services.
At a time when benefits are being cut, in a world where immigrants are targeted as the other, we each have a role to play. Look for the collection baskets!
In early 2017, a group came together at Temple Micah to actively oppose the harsh immigration policies of the Trump administration. We called the group Sukkat Shalom (Shelter of Peace).
Since then, more than half of our community has participated in Sukkat Shalom’s efforts, with donations and on-the-ground work. In addition, Micah members supported the mother of our first family (after 8 years of residence) to become an American citizen!
Learn more about our work:
We partner with local and international nonprofits to ensure that we can provide support where it is needed most critically.
While we have coordinated with several organizations over the years, our partnerships with the nonprofits outlined here—HIAS, Ayuda, International Rescue Committee, and Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area—represents the bulk of our work.
Click on the accordions below to learn more.
HIAS is the global Jewish humanitarian organization that stands for a world in which refugees find welcome, safety, and opportunity. Our most recent work with HIAS includes:
Through HIAS’ Welcome Circle program, welcomed a family of two parents and three boys ages 1 to 5. In addition to providing financial support, we located housing, furnished an apartment, assisted the family in applying for public benefits, helped enroll the children in school and the parents in English lessons.
Temple Micah was recognized by HIAS with a Pathways Trailblazer Award—their highest congregational honor—for its “extraordinary work helping refugees, asylum seekers and other forcibly displaced people.” Micah is one of just 19 congregations—and the only one in the DC area—to receive this award, which was “allocated to the top congregations in the country who have led on unique projects, volunteer efforts, and/or emergency response to crises.”
From 2020-2022, we created and funded the Migrant Support Paralegal position at HIAS, a role that helped clients apply for asylum, special immigrant juvenile status, U-visas, unlawful presence waivers, and work permit applications.
AYUDAAyuda provides legal, social, and language services to help low-income immigrants in our neighborhoods access justice and transform their lives. Our most recent work with Ayuda includes:
In 2025, we provided emergency funds to AYUDA, to help support immigrants in the face of the increased federal law enforcement presence in the District of Columbia.
In 2024 and 2025, we donated goods to partner organizations, including AYUDA and Solutions for Hometown Connections, to assist new arrivals and other immigrants with basic needs like winter clothing, school uniforms and period products.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Our most recent work with IRC includes:
In 2024, we furnished a 3-bedroom apartment in Landover Hills for a family of 4 adults and 3 teens, in cooperation with their resettlement agency, IRC.
Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA) is a human services and immigration relief and refugee welcome agency. Our most recent work with LSSNCA includes:
Since 2017, we have worked closely with LSSNCA to support families new to our area. In 2022, we had the great honor of providing a welcoming home for a young Afghan family as they began to rebuild their lives.