04/04/2011 v1
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The mission of self-help groups goes far beyond refugee resettlement
IN A VERY SHORT TIME, GREENSBORO and Guilford County have become centers of multiculturalism and diversity. Private contractors and a confusing host of nonprofits are responsible for refugee resettlement, a short period (about a year) during which limited funds are quickly exhausted. When refugees leave their care, under-funded and underutilized ethnic community based organizations (CBOs) and their community leaders are left struggling with deep, longterm social problems. CBOs are the missing link in the delivery of comprehensive, culturally-appropriate support including advocacy, cultural promotion and community building.
• Montagnard Dega Association (MDA) is the oldest local CBO in the region, founded in 1986-87.
• African Services Coalition (ASC) was founded in 1997.
• Triad Nepalese Community Center (TNCC) was founded in 2010.
Stress Reduction
• Mental stress — not housing, employment or medical insurance — was named the leading problem faced by refugees, according to CBO leaders at the Holy Trinity Open Space meeting.
• Stress includes feelings of helplessness, lack of control, and social isolation.
• CBO leaders are far more expert in their communities’ problems than Americans.
• Refugee leaders and community workers repeatedly answer the same emergencies for clients, leading to frustration and exhaustion. (Eg: MDA has been doing this for 25 years!)
• Emergency work in the absence of a functioning, responsive system leaves little time and money for refugee leaders and populations to celebrate positive assertions of identity, cultural promotion or community building.
• Difficult social problems and under-funding combine with the lack of coordinated services among American agencies to cause high levels of stress.
• Stress is a symptom, not a cause. Without American cooperation and commitment, CBOs can’t solve root causes of refugee suffering.
CBOs Need the Right Tools
• Discretionary funds for CBO leaders to address dire problems such as housing and homelessness
• Functional translators and interpreters delivering information and low level intervention. For example, investment by UNCG into a modest promotoras de salud – training program for Montagnard women.
• More language, art, and culture promotions and other positive assertions of identity through joint CBO venues and CBO-controlled activities.
• More allies and interested parties able to influence policy. For examples, academics, business leaders, politicians, arts and cultural specialists, social justice advocates, health experts, agriculturalists.
• Research. For example, refugee health and nutrition studies by UNCG researchers
Cooperative Ventures Towards Community Building
• Improvement of information, translation, access to information, media production and literacy in refugee populations
• Create new forums and dialog among CBO leaders and their communities about shared problems and solutions, starting with strategies for reducing stress.
• Joint outreach to local and state government agencies
• Joint proposals to enlist expert help to discover root causes and find applicable local solutions
