Ay, caramba. — Bart Simpson
July 2011
AFTER A YEAR OF MEETINGS following the huge July 8, 2010 Open Space meeting that raised so many hopes and expectations (Sunday July 11, 2010 News-Record, Ministers: Community responsible for refugees), refugee stakeholders haven't figured out how a better system of refugee resettlement could work.
Missing words? “Road map.” “Vision.”“Empowerment.”“Imagination.” “Excellence.”
What else? How about “time frame”?
In the meantime, Greensboro has made national news with its #4 national ranking for food hardship, a measure of families’ abilities to buy enough food to eat. Many Greensboro families affected are refugee families.
So what’s the hold-up to progress?
We do not need a RING “Communications Network” as some resettlement authorities have pushed; RING already has a private, gatekeepered Website. And everyone knows how to pick up the phone or write an email.
What we need are answers — an independent Information Task Force to field questions, get answers and distribute them to the wider public — from which we will find new voices, better expertise and allies who will be the deciding force that breaks the refugee logjam and forces accountability and change.
Some people seem to suggest that by simply asking questions, challenging resettlement leaders and insisting on evidence-based rules and guidelines we are hurting their organizations’ abilities to help refugees and by extension, hurting the refugees themselves. The same sort of posturing guided Lutheran Family Services as it fell apart a year and a half ago. On that basis alone, refugee resettlement stakeholders should not expect to be taken at their word. No one accuses them of dishonesty but they should feel obliged to explain their operations and policies since the serious plight refugees is of direct concern to all Greensboro.
These are extraordinarily tough times for refugees. If they really care, resettlement organizations should be open to suggestions for significant change. Circling the wagons is not going to get them that help.
Anticipating Open Space:
Recommendations to the Open Space meeting
Arguing afterward for Culture:
Why Culture Matters to a Newcomers’ Welcome Center
Other attempts at mapping the impossible:
Montagnard Refugee Concept Map
Good Afternoon everyone, I hope you're all having a good week. I wanted to follow up on two items today. First are some of the upcoming meetings next week and the following week for the Task Forces that emerged from Open Space. There are a couple of other groups who will be meeting and they will send their dates out later. Hopefully all of the information you need is here, but if not please feel free to contact the team leaders listed for more information (and remember to share this with others in the community!)
Secondly at the bottom of this very long email you'll find instructions to join the Refugee Information Network of Guilford. Several of you have contacted us to be added and instead of inviting you all individually, I thought it'd be easier to give you instructions to add yourselves.
UPCOMING MEETINGS OF OPEN SPACE TASK FORCES
Anyone can join these task forces, even if you were not a part of the original group. It would be especially helpful to share this information with others in the community who you know would like to be involved but who were unable to attend the Open Space meeting.
1. Refugee Health Task Force - Tuesday, July 27th at at 10 am at Church World Service 620 S. Elm St, Conference room on 3rd floor (directly across from the stairs/elevator). There is free parking in the lot in front of the building, if this is full there is a gravel lot across the street, street parking, and parking on the side of the building. This meeting will review the plans made at open space and begin to define the scope of work and potential members of the Refugee Health Council. New ideas and reflections welcome! Contact Person: Sarah Ivory - sivory@churchworldservice.org
2. Immigration Legal Services Task Force - Thursday, July 29th at 11 am at the Triton Building at 1031 Summit Ave., Suite 1E2. Free parking in lot in the back. The purpose of this meeting will be to finalize a statement of need that will ultimately be endorsed by affiliates/ cosponsors/ MAAs, etc regarding the provision of legal immigration services to refugees and immigrants. Contact person: Heather Scavone - heather.scavone@lfscarolinas.org
3. Ethnic Community Empowerment Task Force - Thursday, July 29th at 6pm at Church World Service 620 S. Elm St, Conference Room on 3rd floor (directly across from the stairs/elevator). There is free parking in the lot in front of the building. This group is working on ways to increase the voice of the refugee community in the community at large. Their projects include created a refugee leaders council (a focus group that will share information across ethnic groups and be a voice to the community at large), obtaining technical assistance to support the development of new ethnic mutual assistance organizations, and developing leaders. This meeting is being held in the evening to encourage participation from community members who work during the day and would not otherwise be able to attend. Contact Person - Badal Gurung - bgurung@churchworldservice.org
4. Education/ English as a Second Language Task Force - Tuesday, August 3rd at 10am at a location yet to be determined. This group is tackling issues related to access and content of ESOL and education in the community. Contact people: Leilani Forgay-Roughton -leilani.roughton@lfscarolinas.org and Stephanie Baldwin - thecommunitycollaborative@gmail.com
JOINING THE REFUGEE INFORMATION NETWORK LISTSERV
The Refugee Information Network of Guilford Listserv (RING) is a an online email group that was set up some time ago to facilitate information sharing across our community network around refugee issues. Anyone can join the network and if you join you have the option to choose how you receive information. There are probably about 2 emails a week on average (and zero in many weeks) coming from this listerv so you will not be bogged down. It also gives you the option to go to the listserv home page and access old posts, instructional documents (like the refugee welcome packet that provides information about how to do just about everything in our community), updates on arrival numbers and ethnic breakdowns etc. There is quite a bit of useful information on this page already but so much room for this resource to grow.
The easiest way to get on this listserv is the follow these instructions below. If you have problems, just let me know and I'll get a personal invitation out to you. You do not need to have a gmail account to join, but it will ask you set to up a google account using your regular email address if you dont.
Let's hope for some incredibly productive task force meetings next week!
Thanks,
Sarah Ivory on behalf of Leadership Team
The Evolution of the Proposed Welcome Center for Refugees
Click to enlarge. A miscellaneous collection of known
knowns and known unknowns. Arcane? You bet.
July 2011
AFTER A YEAR OF MEETINGS following the huge July 8, 2010 Open Space meeting that raised so many hopes and expectations (Sunday July 11, 2010 News-Record, Ministers: Community responsible for refugees), refugee stakeholders haven't figured out how a better system of refugee resettlement could work.
Missing words? “Road map.” “Vision.”“Empowerment.”“Imagination.” “Excellence.”
What else? How about “time frame”?
In the meantime, Greensboro has made national news with its #4 national ranking for food hardship, a measure of families’ abilities to buy enough food to eat. Many Greensboro families affected are refugee families.
So what’s the hold-up to progress?
________________________________________________________________
Reality Test: Three Simple Questions About Community Building
- When is resettlement accomplished?
- Can refugees list three American references on their resume after being here for (say) five years?
- How much does it cost to resettle a refugee in Guilford County?
___________________________________________________________________
What we need are answers — an independent Information Task Force to field questions, get answers and distribute them to the wider public — from which we will find new voices, better expertise and allies who will be the deciding force that breaks the refugee logjam and forces accountability and change.
Some people seem to suggest that by simply asking questions, challenging resettlement leaders and insisting on evidence-based rules and guidelines we are hurting their organizations’ abilities to help refugees and by extension, hurting the refugees themselves. The same sort of posturing guided Lutheran Family Services as it fell apart a year and a half ago. On that basis alone, refugee resettlement stakeholders should not expect to be taken at their word. No one accuses them of dishonesty but they should feel obliged to explain their operations and policies since the serious plight refugees is of direct concern to all Greensboro.
These are extraordinarily tough times for refugees. If they really care, resettlement organizations should be open to suggestions for significant change. Circling the wagons is not going to get them that help.
___________________________________________________________________
Anticipating Open Space:
Recommendations to the Open Space meeting
Arguing afterward for Culture:
Why Culture Matters to a Newcomers’ Welcome Center
Other attempts at mapping the impossible:
Montagnard Refugee Concept Map
___________________________________________________________________
What They Said Then: July 22, 2010
Secondly at the bottom of this very long email you'll find instructions to join the Refugee Information Network of Guilford. Several of you have contacted us to be added and instead of inviting you all individually, I thought it'd be easier to give you instructions to add yourselves.
UPCOMING MEETINGS OF OPEN SPACE TASK FORCES
Anyone can join these task forces, even if you were not a part of the original group. It would be especially helpful to share this information with others in the community who you know would like to be involved but who were unable to attend the Open Space meeting.
1. Refugee Health Task Force - Tuesday, July 27th at at 10 am at Church World Service 620 S. Elm St, Conference room on 3rd floor (directly across from the stairs/elevator). There is free parking in the lot in front of the building, if this is full there is a gravel lot across the street, street parking, and parking on the side of the building. This meeting will review the plans made at open space and begin to define the scope of work and potential members of the Refugee Health Council. New ideas and reflections welcome! Contact Person: Sarah Ivory - sivory@churchworldservice.org
2. Immigration Legal Services Task Force - Thursday, July 29th at 11 am at the Triton Building at 1031 Summit Ave., Suite 1E2. Free parking in lot in the back. The purpose of this meeting will be to finalize a statement of need that will ultimately be endorsed by affiliates/ cosponsors/ MAAs, etc regarding the provision of legal immigration services to refugees and immigrants. Contact person: Heather Scavone - heather.scavone@lfscarolinas.org
3. Ethnic Community Empowerment Task Force - Thursday, July 29th at 6pm at Church World Service 620 S. Elm St, Conference Room on 3rd floor (directly across from the stairs/elevator). There is free parking in the lot in front of the building. This group is working on ways to increase the voice of the refugee community in the community at large. Their projects include created a refugee leaders council (a focus group that will share information across ethnic groups and be a voice to the community at large), obtaining technical assistance to support the development of new ethnic mutual assistance organizations, and developing leaders. This meeting is being held in the evening to encourage participation from community members who work during the day and would not otherwise be able to attend. Contact Person - Badal Gurung - bgurung@churchworldservice.org
4. Education/ English as a Second Language Task Force - Tuesday, August 3rd at 10am at a location yet to be determined. This group is tackling issues related to access and content of ESOL and education in the community. Contact people: Leilani Forgay-Roughton -leilani.roughton@lfscarolinas.org and Stephanie Baldwin - thecommunitycollaborative@gmail.com
JOINING THE REFUGEE INFORMATION NETWORK LISTSERV
The Refugee Information Network of Guilford Listserv (RING) is a an online email group that was set up some time ago to facilitate information sharing across our community network around refugee issues. Anyone can join the network and if you join you have the option to choose how you receive information. There are probably about 2 emails a week on average (and zero in many weeks) coming from this listerv so you will not be bogged down. It also gives you the option to go to the listserv home page and access old posts, instructional documents (like the refugee welcome packet that provides information about how to do just about everything in our community), updates on arrival numbers and ethnic breakdowns etc. There is quite a bit of useful information on this page already but so much room for this resource to grow.
The easiest way to get on this listserv is the follow these instructions below. If you have problems, just let me know and I'll get a personal invitation out to you. You do not need to have a gmail account to join, but it will ask you set to up a google account using your regular email address if you dont.
Let's hope for some incredibly productive task force meetings next week!
Thanks,
Sarah Ivory on behalf of Leadership Team
