Founded in 1982, IRIS has undergone dramatic growth and transformation over the past 34 years, but its goal has remained constant: to provide a new haven to refugees and other immigrants from around the world. Throughout its history, IRIS has helped refugees from all over the world, but the numbers and nationalities of clients have fluctuated. Vietnamese and other Southeast Asians arrived in the 1980s and early 90s, former Yugoslavians (Bosnians, Croatians, and Serbians) in the 1990s, Cuban rafters in 1995, Kurds in 1996, Kosovar Albanians in 1998, Sudanese “Lost Boys” in 2001, Liberians in 2004, Afghans and Iraqis began to arrive in 2007 and in 2015, IRIS began to receive Syrian families, seeking refuge from one of the biggest humanitarian crises in history.

In 1982, the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut created the Diocesan Refugee Services Committee. Its charge was to explore whether Connecticut parishes might be interested in welcoming and resettling Southeast Asians fleeing communist regimes that rose from the ashes of the Vietnam conflict. There was indeed interest, and the first refugee family arrived December 21, 1982. During its first year of operation the refugee program was staffed by a single individual whose primary task was to find churches willing to welcome and resettle newly arriving refugee families. The Diocesan Refugee Services Committee changed names twice before becoming Interfaith Refugee Ministry (IRM) in 1990, and moved from Cheshire to Bridgeport to Ansonia before making New Haven its home in 1995. IRM moved from Wooster Square to its current location in the East Rock neighborhood in June 2006, and officially changed its name to IRIS — Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services — in summer 2007. This name change reflected IRIS’s growth and the decision to extend some services to address the critical needs of immigrants. The iris flower, which thrives all over the world, is a symbol of hope and faith.