Blog
Resource Round-Up: Creating Safe Spaces for LGBTQ+ Clients
In recognition of Pride, Switchboard has compiled this resource round-up. It includes materials designed for organizations and case managers serving LGBTQ+ clients, including how to create welcoming environments, ensure use of inclusive language, and address the unique needs of this population.
Reflections on World Refugee Day
For over 20 years, we have observed World Refugee Day annually on June 20th. This year is no different as refugee resettlement agencies, allies, and community members continue to support and welcome refugees to the United States. As we approach World Refugee Day, we encourage you to pause and reflect on the lives and experiences of refugees. Ask yourself why you started the work that you do – reset your intentions and commitment to the work that you do each day to support refugees in their journey to rebuild their lives.
How to Maintain a Community-Centered Approach While Developing Vaccine Messaging
As COVID-19 vaccination rates plateau, it is vital to put clients at the center of the work. It is critical to hear directly from the community to develop tailored health messaging that is contextualized in the lives of the people with the lived experience. This blog post includes tips for receiving this detailed information and maintaining a community-centered approach while developing vaccine messaging.
Resource Round-Up: Confronting, Reporting, and Healing After Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
This blog post includes resources to help address the growing crisis of Anti-Asian Hate Crimes, including: resources for service providers to educate themselves and confront the rise in hate incidents; resources on the intersection of bias and COVID-19; multilingual resources for Asian-American Pacific-Islander (AAPI) individuals to report hate incidents; and resources on supporting clients following traumatic experiences.
Persevering during Times of Transition: Beyond Inviting Refugees to the Table
As part of a series of interviews about leadership during transition, I recently spoke with two refugee service leaders about the importance of engaging the refugee community during challenging times. Engaging clients is a key component for success responses, but refugee leaders are often excluded from important parts of developing and executing programs. How can service providers do better?
Responding to Questions and Concerns about the COVID-19 Vaccine, Including During Ramadan
This blog post features tips and resources to help refugee service providers address questions and concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine. It includes customizable communications templates and campaigns, responses to common client questions, videos addressing concerns about vaccines and Ramadan, and more!
Persevering during Times of Transition: Lessons from Leaders across the Resettlement Field
Strategic and everyday tactical leadership is critical to any organization, but confronting change as a leader can require new and different approaches. I recently interviewed leaders from several sectors working within refugee resettlement to learn how they had confronted the challenges of the past years. This blog post includes several areas of action based on their strategies.
Leveraging Volunteers Remotely during COVID-19 to Support Ongoing Economic Integration
With the economic and health crises that came with COVID-19, many service providers were forced to shift priorities with clients. To ensure we did not lose sight of our long-term integration work with clients, we utilized the greater community, including volunteers, to support clients with professional development, professional networking, and complex financial systems navigation. This post provides ideas for leveraging volunteers remotely to support ongoing economic integration for refugees and asylees.
Partnering with School Districts during COVID-19: Tips for Refugee Service Providers
Partnerships between school districts and refugee service providers have always been important, but they have become vital during COVID-19. This blog post includes some general tips for refugee service providers seeking to build productive partnerships with school districts.
You Asked, We Acted: New Features on the Switchboard Website
Switchboard is continually seeking feedback on how we can improve our services. Among the recommendations for improvement that we received through our most recent program evaluation, there were several suggestions for our website. We are pleased to announce several new updates that were informed by these suggestions.