| Listed on this page are web links to organizations, association, groups and reports that address issues that are important to refugee and immigrant integration in the United States. The resources are categorized according to topic. Please click on the links to see if they provide services in your local area. If you know of a resource that you’ve found helpful and would like to share that information, please let us know by contacting us at 404-437-7767 or info@riwn.org Resettlement Immigrant Advocacy Health Economic Empowerment/Employment Education Housing Microenterprise Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault/Trafficking Support to Families Legal Aid Refugee/Immigrant Led Initiatives Media Information on Immigrants/Refugees Multimedia (Movies/Documentaries) Federal/State Initiatives to Support Refugees Organizational /Community Development Refugee/Immigrant Youth Refugee Advocacy |
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| Resettlement All refugees are received and processed in the United States by nine non-profit agencies collectively known as the VOLAGS. They are the first point of contact for refugees. At a minimum, VOLAGS help refugees find housing, apply for public benefits, social security card. Many VOLAGS have extensive programs that meet the diverse needs of the refugees.
Immigrant Advocacy U.S. Migration Policy on Haitian Immigrants, US Congressional Research Service U.S Legal Permanent Residents 2009, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assimilation Today, New Evidence Show that latest Immigrants to America are Following in Our History's Footsteps, Center for American Progress
Infants of Depressed Mothers Living in Poverty: Opportunities to Identify and Serve, The Urban Institute Global Strategies for Women and Children's Health, UN Secretary General Health care reform for Refugees
Focused Outreach in Refugee Microenterprise Field, ISED
Education Minnesota Humanities Commission (MN Storytime Reading Guide): The reading guides have been developed for use by librarians, teachers, child care providers, parents, and anyone else interested in reading and related literacy activities with children and families. The guides contain many suggestions for sharing stories in a consistent easy-to-read format. The Humanities Center focuses on the humanities to build a thoughtful, literate, and engaged society through professional development for educators, literacy programs, and community partnerships. http://minnesotahumanities.org/programs/MNstorytime Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) : CAL is a private, non-profit organization: a group of scholars and educators who use the findings of linguistics and related sciences in identifying and addressing language-related problems. CAL carries out a wide range of activities including research, teacher education, analysis and dissemination of information, design and development of instructional materials, technical assistance, conference planning, program evaluation, and policy analysis. www.cal.org Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence (CREDE): CREDE is a federally funded research and development program focused on improving the education of students whose ability to reach their potential is challenged by language or cultural barriers, race, geographic location, or poverty. http://crede.berkeley.edu National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition & Language Instruction Education Programs (formerly NCBE) : NCELA, collects, analyzes, and disseminates information relating to the effective education of linguistically and culturally diverse learners in the U.S. www.ncela.gwu.edu The World is a Classroom: The World is Our Classroom is a venue for parents and students/children who are homeschooled to share their experience of learning. www.theworldisourclassroom.ca
Refugee & Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing program (HPRP). A Refugee Advocate's guide to navigating the HPRP, Mercy Housing
Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault/Trafficking National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1800-799-7233 (SAFE) is a 24 hours a day, 365 days a year number. Hotline advocates are available for victims and anyone calling on their behalf to provide crisis intervention, safety planning, information and referrals to agencies in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV): NNEDV, a social change organization, is dedicated to creating a social, political and economic environment in which violence against women no longer exists. www.nnedv.org Find a Domestic Violence Program: The listing provides information on all the domestic violence coalitions in all the states. By contacting the state domestic violence coalition, you can connect with a program that serves your area and your needs. http://www.ncadv.org/resources/StateCoalitionList_73.html Tapestri, Inc. (Georgia): Tapestri, Inc. is dedicated to ending violence and oppression in refugee and immigrant communities, using culturally competent and appropriate methods. www.tapestri.org
Support to Families Legal Aid LawHelp: LawHelp helps low and moderate income people find free legal aid programs in their communities, and answers to questions about their legal rights. http://www.lawhelp.org/ Legal Services Corporation (LSC): LSC is the single largest provider of civil legal aid for the poor in the nation. LSC operates as a private, nonprofit corporation that promotes equal access to justice and provides grants for high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income individuals. LSC funds 137 independent nonprofit legal aid programs with 923 offices that provide legal assistance to low-income individuals and families in every congressional district. www.lsc.gov/ Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Maine (PTLA): PTLA is a nonprofit corporation by private attorneys in Maine to promote access to justice by providing high quality free legal assistance responsive to the immediate needs of individual low-income clients and to address the long-range barriers to justice affecting low-income people in Maine. www.ptla.org/ptlasite/index.html Legal Guide for Immigrants to Maine: This site has information on many legal aspects of living in Maine. www.ptla.org/ptlasite/immigrants/english/index_html Legal Aid Georgia: Legal Aid Georgia is is a joint project of Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Inc. and the Georgia Legal Services Program. Legal Aid Georiga provides free legal information and legal services. www.legalaid-ga.org/GA/index.cfm Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network (GAIN): GAIN provides free legal representation in immigration matters to individuals seeking asylum or other relief from persecution in their home countries. www.georgiaasylum.org
Refugee/Immigrant Led Initiatives Media Sagal Radio Services is a community-based non-profit organization based in Georgia which broadcasts weekly radio programs in four different East African languages and English: Somali, Swahili, Amharic and Oromo. http://www.sagalradio.net/
Information on Immigrants/Refugees U.S Census Bureau(Foreign Born Population): www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/foreign/index.html Cultural Orientation Research Center (COR): The COR Center develops and disseminates materials that help refugee newcomers understand fundamental aspects of life in the United States: housing, community services, transportation, health, employment, and cultural adjustment. The COR Center also produces culture profiles on the people, history, and culture of different refugee groups to help U.S. service providers understand new refugee populations. www.cal.org/co
Multimedia (Movies/Documentaries) The New Americans (2004) Filmed over the course of four years, this award-winning documentary series that originally aired on PBS tracks the ups and downs of newly minted immigrants who are struggling to put down roots on American soil. The film captures the experiences of an Indian couple riding the dot-com boom, a pair of Nigerian families fleeing violence and political persecution, and two baseball players from the Dominican Republic, among other stories.
Federal/State Initiatives to Support Refugees The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR): The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) provides people in need with critical resources to assist them in becoming integrated members of American society. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/ Georgia Department of Human Resource (Refugee Program): GA DHR is Georgia's human service agency whose mission is to strengthen Georgia families by providing services through about 80 programs that ensure their health and welfare. http://dfcs.dhr.georgia.gov/ Office of Women’s Health (OWH): provide leadership to promote health equity for women and girls through sex/gender-specific approaches http://www.4woman.gov/
Organizational /Community Development Spring Institute: Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning is a nonprofit, training and consulting corporation with a focus on language and culture. The Spring Institute works with people and organizations all over the world, enabling communication and increasing understanding, helping to turn cultural differences into assets.www.springinstitute.org Project Soar: Project Soar is a unit within International Rescue Committee (IRC) that provides technical assistance in the area of organizational capacity building to ensure that the groups we assist accomplish their missions, serve their beneficiaries effectively and engage in long-term strategic planning. http://www.theirc.org/what/project_for_strengthening_organizations_to_assist_refugees_soar.html Project South: Project South acts as a regional hub for leadership development, movement-building, and long-term strategy development within community-based organizing for racial and economic justice. http://www.projectsouth.org/ Women's Learning Partnership (WLP) is dedicated to women's leadership and empowerment. WLP is a builder of networks, working with 18 autonomous and independent partner organizations in the Global South, particularly in Muslim-majority societies, to empower women to transform their families, communities, and societies. http://www.learningpartnership.org
Refugee/Immigrant Youth Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services (BRYCS): BRYCS is a national technical assistance program addressing challenges which refugee youth and children face in adjusting to life in the United States. Our fundamental purpose is to broaden the scope of information and increase collaboration among service providers for refugee youth, children and families. www.brycs.org This World Now: This World Now is a site where immigrants and refugees can write blogs about their immigration experience. www.thisworldnow.com
Refugee Advocacy Refugee Council USA (RCUSA): http://www.rcusa.org/ RCUSA is a coalition of U.S. non-governmental organizations focused on refugee protection. RCUSA provides advocacy on issues affecting the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, displaced persons, victims of trafficking, and victims of torture in the United States and across the world. Women’s Refugee Commission: The Women's Refugee Commission advocates for laws, policies and programs to improve the lives and protect the rights of refugee and internally displaced women, children and young people—bringing about lasting, measurable change. http://www.womensrefugeecommission.org/ Amnesty international (Refugee and Migrant Rights): Amnesty International campaigns for the rights of refugees, IDPs and migrants around the world and exposes human rights abuses and failures in their protection. Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all. www.amnesty.org/en/refugees-and-migrants U. S. Committee on Refugee & Immigrants (USCRI): addresses the needs and rights of persons in forced or voluntary migration worldwide by advancing fair and humane public policy, facilitating and providing direct professional services, and promoting the full participation of migrants in community life. http://www.refugees.org/ Nationalities Service Center (NSC): NSC’s mission is to protect legal rights, strengthen families and promote self-sufficiency, eliminate barriers created by language and cultural differences, and promote public awareness of the benefits of diversity in U.S. society. www.nscphila.org
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