Author: dini0008

ServeMinnesota, as part of the DHS State Afghan Placement Assistance Program, is seeking individuals to serve as AmeriCorps members in their Refugee Response Initiative. AmeriCorps has often been described as the domestic Peace Corps, providing needed community support right here at home. In this initiative, AmeriCorps members are needed to help Afghan refugees in temporary housing and in transitions into community life in MN. They will provide short-term service – from March to June – as individuals and families transition to their new communities. Those working primarily with adults will assist with community orientation classes and navigation through available services (housing, food, medical, legal, etc.). Members are also needed to provide structured activities for children and youth (ages 0-18) at the temporary housing site.

Full-time and part-time opportunities are available with flexible shifts every day between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Training will begin in February and March. People with language skills in Dari or Pashto are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Individuals, 18 and older, who serve with the Refugee Response Initiative will receive a living stipend, health benefits and an education award that can be used for tuition or student loan repayment. Positions will be paid approximately the equivalent of $15 per hour (AmeriCorps members are not paid hourly; they receive a fixed living allowance every two weeks based on their total number of hours served).

Anyone who wants to learn more about supporting the Refugee Response Initiative is encouraged to fill out an interest form at  https://bit.ly/DHS_Refugee_Response

Join us for a presentation from our partners at Immigration Advocates Network (IAN) who will share a variety of tools and resources they have created to help low-income immigrants navigate the path to legal status/citizenship.

Thursday | January 27, 2022 | 1 p.m. CT

Welcoming Network member the City of Jersey City will join us to provide actionable context about how they implemented the IAN’s Citizenshipworks Project to support local immigrants who are going through the citizenship process and how you can do the same.

Whether you are part of a local government, rural community, or nonprofit organization, you will want to hear about how IAN can help you build a program that provides legal and technological resources to promote citizenship in your community.

For more information and to register: Register For IAN Webinar

Join the Minnesota Department of Health for a short webinar about how you or your organization can use this campaign. The webinar will provide some background information on the campaign and walk through the resources available. 

The #StayConnectedMN toolkit is a four-week communication campaign with simple messages and tips on how to support mental health and well-being. The self-guided toolkit is easy to use, with messages and ready-made posts that apply to most audiences. 

Wednesday | January 26, 2022 | 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. CT

What is Included?

Each week has a theme, key messages, one email with resource links, and three to four quick posts to use. Content can be shared through email, social media, or in meetings; you can share messages with clients, partners, employees, congregants, friends, or neighbors. You can use these posts as they are or edit and adapt them to suit your own needs. 

• Week 1: Build casual connections 
• Week 2: Foster close connections 

• Week 3: Connect with community 
• Week 4: Finding support and help 

Download the #StayConnectedMN Toolkit (PDF)

To register for the Webinar: Register for the #StayConnectedMN Webinar (Webex link).   

Once the host approves your registration, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the session.   

Note: If you have already registered for this session, you do not need to register again. 

Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN) is pleased to offer a virtual, four-part educational and support program for health care workers.  

Thursday | February 10, 2022 | 7:00 pm CT| Virtual | Free

Session 1:

Thursday | February 3, 2022 |12:00 pm CT 

Session 2:

Thursday | February 10, 2022 | 12:00 pm CT 

Session 3:

Thursday | February 17, 2022 | 12:00 pm CT

Session 4:

Thursday | February 24, 2022 | 12:00 pm CT

The program focuses on tools to manage the stressors that arise at work and at home during challenging times. The sessions will present a model of the helper as a witness that provides concrete suggestions as to how the provider can shift from feeling ineffective to feeling effective and competent. The sessions are facilitated by an experienced clinician. The curriculum emphasizes ways to strengthen individual resilience to better face current and future personal and workplace challenges.

If interested: Register for MCN Webinars

Come join the Minnesota Gerontology Society and listen to a discussion about how to work with dementia in racial-ethnic minority communities.

Objectives:

1. Identify the preferences of several racial/ethnic minority groups when discussing dementia.
2. Define the implications of different terms potentially used when referring to dementia.
3. Discuss Stigma, Shame, and Silence as cultural considerations related to dementia in racial-ethnic minority communities.

Click here to register now Click here for more information

Family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) care—that is, child care provided by relatives, friends, and community members in an unlicensed setting—is the most common form of child care in the United States. While many U.S. families rely on FFN care, it is particularly prevalent among immigrant and Dual Language Learner (DLL) families. Compared to formal center-based child care, FFN caregivers are more likely to share a language and culture with the families they serve, have flexible schedules, and cost less—making them the preferred or at times the only feasible child-care option for some families.

Yet, FFN care is generally overlooked in child-care policy conversations. As the U.S. young child population continues to become more diverse, and with many states and localities seeking to make their child-care systems more equitable, increasing the visibility of and support for FFN care providers is an important strategy.

This policy brief discusses the importance of FFN care for immigrant and DLL families and the barriers such caregivers face in accessing public subsidies and other resources. Drawing in part on interviews with representatives of community-based organizations that support FFN care providers and other experts, the brief also highlights promising practices that can be expanded and replicated to effectively support FFN caregivers and the many families they serve.

This policy is developed by Maki Park and Jazmin Flores Peña. To read the entire policy click here.

Welcoming America is providing a webinar on MN law regarding housing, disaster relief, and homelessness assistance programs.

Date: Dex 8, 2021 Time: 1pm-2pm

Click this link to register for the webinar: https://welcomingamerica.zoom.us/webinar/register/7216366587339/WN_bvVmZ56jSnKPFueQdsiLNw?utm_source=General+List&utm_campaign=73e979597e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_09_30_01_12_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e4451d0ede-73e979597e-87481049&mc_cid=73e979597e&mc_eid=b08371180c

The Refugee Resettlement Programs Office is a federally funded office in the Minnesota Department of Human Services that supports the effective resettlement of refugees in Minnesota, and ensures their basic needs are met so they can live in dignity and achieve their highest potential. This office ensures accessibility to mainstream programs for people with refugee status, distributes federal dollars to local agencies for supplemental services, and provides education and information about refugees in Minnesota.

Visit the website here for more resources and information.

The United States is a country of immigrants. With the exception of Native-Americans, every other American is, or descends from, an immigrant. First and second generation immigrant children are the most rapidly growing segment of the American population, with the great majority of this population being of non-European origin. This paper reviews the unique risk factors and mental health needs of our new immigrant populations, as well as treatment and services approaches to address their unique needs.

To read more on this article, click here.

Kimberly Horner, a doctoral student at the Humphrey School who researches the local reception of immigrant populations, summarized their work in a recent article for the Gender Policy Report, published by the School’s Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy. Here’s a summary. 

Key findings:

• Refugees who settle in the United States are encouraged to quickly find employment, and are generally afforded cash assistance and medical assistance for a mere eight months after resettlement, though some individuals and families qualify for other government-sponsored benefits.
• In the push to obtain employment, refugees may miss opportunities to participate in  education, English language classes, or job training—collectively called human capital investment—that would allow for longer-term economic advancement.
• Gender plays a prominent role in human capital investment. Refugee women were more likely than men to have recently enrolled in education or English classes, but if they have young children to care for, they were less likely to enroll in these courses. 
• Although refugee women were more likely to undertake human capital investments and see greater long-term benefits when compared to refugee men, they still earned less than men regardless of the men’s participation in education or job training.  
• Refugee women with young children are not accessing opportunities to the same extent as those without children. If they are less fluent in English, they’re less likely to participate in education or job training. There may be needs around childcare or program accessibility for those with limited English proficiency.

To read the entire article, follow this link.