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In Kennewick, Washington, the parking lot of a local nonprofit fills up quickly. People leave their cars with notebooks in hand and enter a bright blue building. They pass by a wall that says “welcome” in multiple languages.
This is the home of B5, a center that provides free English classes and citizenship classes for refugees and immigrants.
Theresa Roosendaal, the executive director of B5, said the nonprofit got its name from the unit number of a one-bedroom apartment her church once rented out to host English classes for refugees. Since the organization became a nonprofit in 2014, its staff have helped more than 2,000 newcomers learn new skills.
“For some of them, this is an opportunity for them to build skills so they can get a different kind of job,” Roosendaal said. “We’re supporting them as they overcome the language, literacy and cultural barriers to thriving. It’s never a handout, but a hand across for walking alongside people.”
Roosendaal said each class has people from all over the world.
“It’s a beautiful thing to see people sitting across the table from one another, one from Afghanistan, one from the Congo, one from Central America. People who were born on a different continent find that there is something similar in all of their stories,” she said.
Inside the classrooms, volunteers lead English lessons. In one classroom, volunteer Pam Henager teaches an English class just for women.
Originally, the women’s classes were created for Afghan women who were uncomfortable being in class with men. Now, the majority of the people who are enrolled in that class are Hispanic and Latino women. Henager said that diversity in the classroom is an asset to teaching English.
“Most of the women in my class right now know more English than they think. They lack confidence, and sometimes they have been mistreated or mocked because they don’t speak English well,” she said. “We focus on speaking, listening, reading and writing. Also, the friendship that builds in the classroom helps them learn English because … the only common language you have is English.”
In their English classes, students are tested for their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. In 2025, B5 reported that nearly 80% percent of students improved their skills in at least one area.
Ofelia Sanchez is in the women’s class. She learned about the program through a coworker. Sanchez said she’s tried learning English at other schools, but it was challenging to understand. At B5, she said teachers explain things well to her, and she feels comfortable having a conversation.
“The teachers are very kind and they explain things very well to us. I feel like I’ve improved a little more because before I couldn’t have a conversation in English, and now I can,” Sanchez said in Spanish.
Fewer refugees are coming to Washington
Recently, President Donald Trump’s administration set the lowest cap on refugee admissions since 1980, according to NPR.
Sarah Peterson is the refugee coordinator for Washington state’s Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance. Peterson said Washington has been one of the top states in the country for refugee resettlement. After federal changes, she has seen fewer groups resettle in the state.
Roosendaal says she hasn’t seen any new refugees coming to Kennewick since those changes were made. That could put B5’s future budget in a difficult spot. They receive state funding that makes up almost half of their budget. That money is tied to helping refugees learn English. So, B5 is making changes.
“New arrivals are not happening right now,” Roosendaal said. “We also serve immigrants from all over the world. We’re working on changing our mission statement to reflect that B5 supports immigrants and refugees in the Tri-Cities.”
Changes to refugee admissions have impacted other support organizations, too. A few hours away, a Wenatchee-based nonprofit group — called Friends of Ukraine — closed after helping over 200 Ukrainian refugees who were displaced by war. The group struggled to get more refugees into the country.
“ The refugees have stopped coming, and we feel like as best we can, we have stabilized,” said Russ Speidel, who was co-chair of Friends of Ukraine. ”The refugees that are here, we want to continue to help them in ways that we can as friends. It's a bittersweet ending.”
Goal setting
In February, B5 served nearly 130 adults through its English classes. Some of the students in the group’s English classes have set goals for what they’d like to achieve next.
Mayra Herrera, who is from Oaxaca, Mexico, said she wants to be an interpreter at a hospital. Rawda Elkra, a student from Sudan, wants to improve her reading.
Harven Hernandez-Rodriguez, who’s from Nicaragua, started taking English classes at B5 after he arrived in the U.S. nearly a year and a half ago. Hernandez-Rodriguez said he hopes that by learning English, he could possibly work somewhere with planes.
“ When I was a child, I dream to speak English. My first dream was to become a pilot. I think maybe in the future I (will) work in the airport. It was my dream when I was a child,” he said.
