While the YMCA of Lansing has been working with refugee youth for a little over a year, they have recently been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Capital Region Community Foundation to extend that service to families. The Refugee Family Strengthening and Parenting Skills Program will begin mid-July at the downtown YMCA.
In the past, refugee adults only received about three months of classes and programming and then were expected to be self-sufficient. According to Kelly King, Executive Director of the Downtown Wellness Center, "There was a need to increase their skill set."
The program will focus on hygiene, communication, family time and try to teach them what is acceptable in America while urging them to maintain their own traditions and cultures. The hope is that a large percentage of participants will stay on for further programming that will focus on finding jobs, interview skills, resume building, financial management and more.
To help make the program successful, King says they will be hiring translators and interpreters, a few Master's Students from MSU and an immigrant from Iraq to help with both programs. They have also hired on a refugee student from Burma.
King says, "We are really excited to help these folks succeed in the community and call Lansing their home long-term."
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Source: Kelly King, Executive Director of the Downtown Wellness Center
Writer: Allison Monroe, Innovation News Editor
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