On Tuesday, as reported by Crain's New York, Airbnb announced a donation of $10,000 in free housing vouchers to the Young Center in support of our efforts to reunify families. These vouchers will help the Young Center expand our network of Child Advocates beyond its current geographic scope, support staff when working on family reunification cases that require travel, and facilitate key training and strategy sessions dedicated to child and family rights.

From Maria Woltjen, Executive Director, Young Center: 

Today thousands of immigrant children are separated from their families and unsure of what the future holds. Our dedicated staff, volunteers and experts at the Young Center are doing everything we can to advocate for the best interests of these children. Our united network of advocates is on the ground in cities around the country helping unaccompanied immigrant children through the legal and emotional challenges that they face. The needs of these children have never been greater. The Young Center is grateful for the generous support from Airbnb at this critical time and we hope this is the beginning of a great alliance as we work toward our mission of ensuring immigrant children are treated first as children. All children need safety, the love and care of family, and the ability to grow and develop.

From Chris Lehane, Head of Global Policy, Airbnb:

Right now, volunteers and staff at the Young Center are toiling day and night to make families whole again by reuniting separated children with their parents. Their work is righteous and stands for our higher angels. Working with our community of hosts, we are just trying to lend a small helping hand to make it a little easier for these advocates and to hopefully ensure that the families for whom they advocate can be reunited that much sooner.

With a pressing need to recruit and train volunteers across the country, the vouchers will allow the Young Center to provide free housing to those who travel to one of our eight offices for Child Advocate training. In addition, the vouchers will support staff who are fighting for family unity by offsetting housing costs when travel is required in particular cases. Lastly, the vouchers will aid staff travel to key strategy and training sessions dedicated to advancing family unity and the best interests of children.

The Young Center is immensely grateful for this generous donation from Airbnb. It will have a real positive impact on the children and families we fight for every day.

Read Airbnb's press statement here. Read the Crain's New York coverage here.