IMMIGRANT STORIES – IN THEIR OWN WORDS: HOSSNA SAMADI Announced At Palace Theater This June

The Palace Theater will launch a live storytelling series featuring compelling first-person accounts of courage and resilience. The series begins on Saturday, June 1st at 11:00 AM with Hossna Samadi, the Outreach Coordinator for IRIS, an organization that assists refugees in Connecticut during the resettlement process.

Hossna Samadi will offer her unique perspective, detailing her personal journey from Afghanistan to Connecticut. From overcoming obstacles and prejudices to assimilating into a new community, her story serves as testament to the resilience, perseverance, and determination that so many immigrants possess as they work to make a better life in a new country.

Samadi grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan, before relocating with her family to New Haven in 2016. When she first arrived, Samadi took English classes through IRIS, which led to an ongoing relationship with that organization. In 2021, she became an IRIS Ambassador, speaking at a wide range of venues and panels. As the IRIS Outreach Coordinator, she helps educate people about IRIS as well as the challenges and journeys experienced by immigrants and refugees. Additionally, Samadi is the co-founder of the Collective for Refugee & Immigrant Women's Wellbeing, a pilot project that evaluates existing services for refugee women's mental health and wellbeing in New Haven.

Susan Suhr, the founder of New Start Ministry, will give a brief introduction before the talk, providing some background understanding about refugees and immigrants. New Start Ministry is an interfaith group that works in conjunction with IRIS to co-sponsor refugee families for local resettlement.

Tickets are FREE but reservations are required and can be made at the Box Office: 203-346-2000.

About the Immigrant Stories – In Their Own Words series

Immigrant Stories — In Their Own Words is a new speaker series that aims to educate and inspire the audience through first-person accounts of journeys to a new country. 

Stories will be 45–60 minutes in length followed by Q&A with the audience.

About the Palace Theater

Located in Downtown Waterbury, Connecticut, the Palace Theater is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit performing arts center with a mission “to preserve and operate the historic Palace Theater as a performing arts center and community gathering place that provides a focal point of cultural activity and educational outreach for diverse audiences.”

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