MIRA, the Middle Eastern Immigrant and Refugee Alliance, was originally founded in 2009 as the Iraqi Mutual Aid Society by newly-arrived Iraqi refugees, in response to the challenges they faced while adapting to their new lives in the United States. MIRA forges connections between Middle Eastern and American society, and facilitates the preservation and exchange of Middle Eastern culture. Our goal is to foster well-being and self-sufficiency for resettled refugees and immigrants from across the Middle East and beyond, and to use our multilingual and multicultural expertise to tailor our services to the unique needs of our clients— whom we serve regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, or family size. ​Our staff and volunteers speak Arabic, Assyrian, Kurdish, and Farsi. Almost all arrived to the United States as refugees themselves. These linguistic, cultural, and experiential connections with our Middle Eastern clients distinguish MIRA; there is no comparable organization serving this population in the Chicago area. Over the past ten years since the founding, MIRA has expanded to offer services to refugees, immigrants, asylees, and Special Immigrant Visa holders from all over the world, but we are proud to say that this founding spirit has only grown stronger— MIRA continues to be community-driven, refugee-powered, and closely attuned to the needs and voices of the population we serve.