Rose Sommerfeld began helping immigrants as a social worker at the Clara de Hirsch Home for Working Girls. Founded in 1897, the Home provided a safe, affordable living space for young immigrant women whose families could not support them. Women also received training in domestic service, but Sommerfeld felt that in the rapidly changing labor market, women would be more employable if they received broader vocational training. Under her direction, the Clara de Hirsch Home introduced vocational training in 1899.