In the December 2019 issue of Real Simple, I interviewed three mentor-mentee pairs from the nonprofit Hello Neighbor, an organization based in Pittsburgh that matches refugees with native Pittsburgh locals for a yearlong friendship. When I first read about the work Hello Neighbor founder Sloane Davidson was doing, I wanted to know more.

This story gave me the opportunity to talk to families who have benefited from the friendships with people they might not have met otherwise. I spoke to the families over the phone and it was clear how much they all cared for each other. It was so inspiring to bring this beautiful story to the forefront.