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International Institute of
Akron
207 East Tallmadge Avenue
Akron Ohio 44310-3298
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Tel: 330-376-5106
Fax: 330-376-0133
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Preferred Communities Program
To help communities understand new refugee populations through cultural orientation sessions, materials, and cultural events that provide information and direct contact with the people, history, and culture of new refugee groups, through Local Community Education and Cultural Orientation we:
- Offer and provide presentations for the local school system about new refugee groups; provide the local welfare department with information on new refugee groups and increase staff's level of understanding of refugee needs, organize and host annual meeting with local service providers and safety professionals to provide information about refugees and their issues, participate in local members and hold an annual cultural orientation meeting with local health screening providers to educate staff about new refugee groups.
- Provide speakers to various local organizations, distribute "culture-grams," and include refugees as part of the presentation and work with local news media to educate the community about arriving refugees through human interest stories. Click here to read some of the stories.
- Train local services providers, employers and other organizations how to communicate and deliver culturally appropriate services to new refugee groups, utilizing the expertise of these refugees, develop materials on effective and culturally appropriate communication with new refugee groups and meet with churches and religious organizations to discuss new refugees, obtain support, and build understanding and acceptance of the new refugee groups and develop and update brief fact sheets on refugee groups and share information with community partners and service providers.
With a goal of relationship building through information sharing exchanges between refugees and local community through Local Community Partnerships and Education we:
- Organize meetings with the local housing agencies to assist newly-arriving refugees in applying for low-income housing and to education refugees on the programs available for low-income families.
- Sponsor seminars for refugees with the local free legal clinics to address the potential need for legal services and education about programs available for low-income families.
- Participate in community meetings with local bus transportation service to educate refugees about bus services and introduce the transportation staff to refugees as new users.
- Partner with law enforcement agencies to build on outreach efforts that provide education on refugees' rights and responsibilities to local service providers and employers.
- Provide information about refugees during World Refugee Day public educational events.
To offer Learning Opportunities that Ensure Assimilation to refugees,we:
- Provide information to new refugee groups through trained community leaders, interpreters, and translated materials on how to access housing, community services, transportation, health care, nutrition, employment, education (i.e. parental involvement in child's education), childcare, banking services, law enforcement, cultural adjustment, and rights and responsibilities of refugees.
For a presentation on refugees arriving to Akron, refugee issues in general, or for more information, please contact Kate Sass at 330-376-5106, Ext. 25.
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