Helping Refugees Build Their New Lives in Virginia – Starting With a Driver’s License

In the longer term, urbanists advocate for walkable, bikeable cities with robust public transportation and affordable housing close to high-quality employment opportunities.

But in the meantime, refugees and immigrants newly arriving in the U.S. need to get to their jobs, schools, grocery stores and doctor’s appointments. Given language access barriers in Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles, getting a driver’s license can be harder than expected for many newcomers.

In Virginia, while the learner’s permit test is available in 26 languages, the driver’s manual is only offered in two: English and Spanish. The road test is exclusively available in English.

“It all comes back to language access,” says Kate Ayers, executive director of ReEstablish Richmond, a nonprofit supporting refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants as they rebuild their lives in Richmond, Virginia. “Transportation is often a barrier to accessing resources in the community and for socioeconomic upward mobility.”

Launched over a decade ago, ReEstablish Richmond originally began by assisting refugees in navigating bus and public transit. “Honestly, what we have seen is…it is not a program or a service that people want or use once we do it,” Ayers says.

The organization instead focused on helping refugees receive driving credentials, but it’s since broadened its mission further, providing a range of free services to help newcomers navigate their new environment and achieve self-sufficiency.

Out of the 196 newcomers who received learner’s permit study materials, 161 were able to get a driving credential through this support. That’s a whopping 82% success rate.

“When all of those supportive elements are in place, then the outcomes are significant,” Ayers says. “People went from taking one to three years to get a learner’s permit to one to three months to get a driver’s license.”

Take Tetiana, a client who had to leave her mother, husband and older son behind in Ukraine following Russia’s deadly invasion. “I was so happy to receive study materials, a tutor and a DMV Orientation in my own language,” she says. “It helped me understand. Because of this, I passed the test.”

Tetiana also received a grant from ReEstablish Richmond to purchase a car. “My life changed considerably. Before I just went to work and from work, that’s it. But now I can drive to enjoy my shopping, for grocery shopping,” she tells Next City. She also drives her young son, who dreams of being a professional swimmer, to the swimming pool.

ReEstablish Richmond has set a goal of 200 individuals receiving their driving credentials in 2024. “I think we’re on pace to do that,” Ayers tells Next City. Most of its clients are from Afghanistan, with over 60% speaking either Dari or Pashto. Other major languages include Arabic, Spanish, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Ukrainian and Russian.

The organization offers free, one-on-one driving workshops to accommodate people at different points in their journeys. Team members teach refugees how to access digital resources, including translations of driving manuals in clients’ primary language and videos that enable clients who can’t read in their primary language to hear information being spoken aloud.

Workshop attendees are also provided with ongoing navigation support.

“When they go to the DMV, they have a translator with them or an interpreter with them,” Ayers explains. “When they run into issues, they have someone who is more bicultural and who can advocate for them.”

Clients only need to pay for behind-the-wheel lessons, a cost that the organization has tried to mitigate through a $200 scholarship and discounted rates from partnerships with certain driving schools. So far, it’s provided about $8,000 of scholarship funds for driving lessons.

But transportation independence requires more than just a driver’s license: In many cases, it requires a car. ReEstablish Richmond’s Honor Loan car program is an grant, funded by a donor who contributes $4,000-$5,000 annually.

Clients like Tetiana who earn their driver’s licenses but still need a car can undergo a financial evaluation and, if approved, receive a grant to buy a car. They’re encouraged to pay it forward through voluntary donations to support future recipients.

The language access program’s effectiveness has led to conversations with the Office of Refugee Resettlement about how their work can be adapted at the national level, and it’s helped inform ReEstablish Richmond’s own work more broadly. “We have taken this understanding and sort of applied it to our other program areas,” Ayers says.

ReEstablish Richmond now assists with practical needs such as housing, employment and navigating public transportation, ensuring that newcomers have the resources necessary for stable and independent living. In 2023, the organization provided about $27,000 for rent and financial assistance to 28 clients.

Its leaders have also learned that pairing these adult education and English language classes with transportation, childcare and interpretation makes participation much more feasible.

“When that supportive network is there, then people are showing up to classes at 80% or more attendance rate,” Ayers says.