Blog
Supporting Clients Experiencing Housing Insecurity: Tips and Multilingual Materials on Housing Relief Legislation
As many clients continue to experience financial hardship due to the effects of COVID-19, service providers are offering support by helping to navigate pandemic relief measures. This post shares eviction prevention and rent assistance information related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including multilingual information where available.
What Can You Expect from Switchboard in the New Year? Findings from our External Evaluation and Needs Assessment
As a Switchboard team, we’re always interested in learning more about how we’re doing, how we can improve, and which topics are on refugee service providers’ minds. This is why we worked with an external evaluator to look back at our work from the previous year to reflect on our project and identify how we could improve. We also conducted a needs assessment to hear from you and inform our priorities for the coming year. Thank you to all who participated! We would like to share some of the main findings with you.
Refugees and Asylees Have the Right to Work: Overcoming Two Key Challenges when Communicating with Employers about Work Authorization
This second post in a two-part series that was informed by conversations with Senior Trial Attorney Liza Zamd from the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section. It provides tips on overcoming two common challenges when employers request specific documents from refugees and asylees as they complete the I-9.
Refugees and Asylees Have the Right to Work: Busting Three Myths about Social Security Delays & Work Authorization
This is the first post in a two-part series that was informed by conversations with Senior Trial Attorney Liza Zamd from the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section. It covers three common misconceptions held by both employers and service providers regarding work authorization, and shares additional useful resources.
Talking about Race and Racism: Tips for Conversations with Refugee Youth
As a young person, adjusting to a new place is difficult no matter the circumstances. In adapting to their new communities, refugee youth need to understand how race and racism may shape their lives in the U.S., including the history of systemic racism and discrimination, the history of anti-racist movements, and what they need to know about current events like protests against police brutality.
Talking about Race and Racism: Tips for Participating in Introductory Conversations
Conversations about race are challenging, but they allow people to get to know one another better and build stronger communities. It is important for newcomers to have a better understanding about racism in America, how it may affect their daily lives, and what they can do to change it. It is equally important that refugee service providers consider the adjustments, new information, and learning curves newcomers face. Providers must take those into account as they think about when, where, and how to introduce topics about race, racism, and anti-racism with clients.
Talking about Race and Racism: Preparing for Conversations with Refugee Clients
Refugee service providers play an important role in helping newcomers integrate into communities across the country. As they adjust to their new life in America, many refugees and their family members are likely to experience racism or discrimination first-hand. In our role as providers, managers, and evaluators of services that help newcomers successfully integrate into U.S. communities, we must be willing and able to have meaningful conversations about race and racism with refugees.
Supporting Refugees and Immigrants to Complete the 2020 Census During COVID-19
On March 3rd, Switchboard hosted a webinar on the 2020 US Census. Since then, many things about the 2020 Census have changed due to COVID-19. This post shares updates and suggestions for Census outreach in the new environment.
Remote Job Readiness Resources for Clients with Lower Levels of Digital Literacy
We recently published a blog post on Virtual Job Readiness Resources for Clients With Online Access. But how are agencies continuing job readiness training when participants don’t have access to technology or lack digital literacy skills? This post includes job readiness resources for supporting clients without online access and/or digital skills, informed by strategies refugee service providers have begun implementing nationwide.
Three Steps You Can Take to Support Clients’ Food Security
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused profound disruption across the globe, including in the U.S., which in late March became the country with the highest number of confirmed cases. The crisis is exacerbating existing economic and social inequality for many refugee and immigrant populations and their communities.
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Featured Resources
Preventing Occupational Hazards by Promoting Organizational Resilience
Burnout, secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, and compassion fatigue are all considered occupational hazards. These effects can result directly from
Integrating Digital Citizenship into Refugee and Immigrant Youth Programs
This guide is designed to help staff integrate digital citizenship education into existing programs, with a focus on digital safety,
Cultural Competence in Refugee Service Settings: What Does the Research Tell Us?
Hosted on September 10, 2020, this webinar was facilitated by Ling San Lau, Senior Program Officer, Program on Forced Migration