New Homes for New Refugees: A Template for Creating a Welcoming Landlord Network in Your Community
This webinar brought together key organizers of the City of Pittsburgh’s “Renting to Refugees” initiative to discuss how they executed the effort and how similar organizations can potentially implement a similar strategy in your own community. Topics of discussion will include convening cross-sector stakeholders to increase the reach of your initiative, maximizing the effectiveness of…
Read MoreCreating a new home, deeper belonging together in Maine
In 2020, Welcoming America and its members worked in eight cities to bridge diverse communities and foster a deeper sense of belonging for local residents, including immigrants. This story is part of the Belonging Begins With Us campaign, which was funded in part by the Walmart Foundation. Zoe Sahloul was seven years old when war…
Read MoreThis World Refugee Day, learn something new about refugee resettlement
Today is World Refugee Day! First held by the United Nations in 2001, World Refugee Day honors refugees and “celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape persecution” (UNHCR). Welcoming America recently hosted a series of webinars with Boston University on refugee resettlement strategies to…
Read MoreResettlement Strategies: Learning from National Examples & Local Actors
Presented by Welcoming America and Boston University, this two-part webinar provides a broad understanding of how the resettlement system works in the United States, how it differs from other systems, and what challenges it has undergone over the past three years. Part one of this series took place on May 26, 2021 and part two…
Read MoreEngaging Public Sector Stakeholders to Prepare for Welcoming More Refugees
This webinar was hosted and organized by Switchboard on April 7, 2021. Switchboard is a resource hub for refugee service providers in the United States. Welcoming America staff presented on this timely topic using knowledge and examples from the Welcoming Network. Speakers: Christina Pope, Senior Network Director George Zavala, Western Regional Manager As refugee service…
Read MoreFrom Syria to Idaho to California: Reflections from a virtual cooking class
Since September, the Idaho Office for Refugees, a Welcoming Network member, has offered cross-culinary kits and virtual cooking classes as part of a six-month series led by Boise residents with refugee and immigrant backgrounds. I was lucky enough to attend a class taught by Shadi Ismail, a Syrian refugee who calls Boise home. He was…
Read MoreA Global Welcome: Metro Chicago's Approach to Immigrant Inclusion
More than half the global population lives in metropolitan areas, and this proportion will likely increase throughout the 21st century. A significant contributor to this growth will be immigrants and other newcomers. This report by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs examines, through the lens of the city of Chicago, the complexity of the foreign-born community and…
Read MoreSix Ways to Support Refugees Virtually this World Refugee Day
June 20 is World Refugee Day. As an internationally-designated day of the United Nations, World Refugee Day was established as a way for people across the world to show solidarity for refugees and to honor their resilience and determination to find safe haven. By the end of 2018, 70.8 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide…
Read MoreBuilding and Sustaining Community Collaborations for Refugee Welcome: A Community Engagement Toolkit
Refugee resettlement organizations increasingly recognize the need to create greater community support for refugees, and to be part of broader community efforts that may benefit refugees, but are not focused exclusively on refugees. How do refugee-serving organizations assess the state of their current efforts and what are the next steps they could take to advance…
Read MoreWelcoming Refugees in Rural Communities: Promising Examples from the Field
While there are many positive examples across the country of refugee welcome in rural communities, this tool explores four groundbreaking community-based initiatives that are engaging, supporting, and welcoming refugees in rural areas. In this toolkit, we highlight how different types of community actors are working together to create more vibrant communities for all. This includes:…
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