Volunteer Training Opportunity

Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement is offering a training session called “Fundamentals of Interpreting” to all interested volunteers within the community. Effective, accurate and respectful interpreting is a vital skill needed to serve limited-English speakers in our community. This valuable, interactive, free session reviews the skills and framework necessary to interpret successfully. Volunteers of all language skills and cultural backgrounds are encouraged to attend.   

Benefits:

• Gain a valuable understanding of interpreting best practices
• Free of charge
• Certificate of attendance

Topics:

• Translation vs. Interpretation
• Interpreting as a profession
• National standards of practice
• Interpreting tools
• Effective interpreter partnerships
• Equalizing power with language
• Ethical issues
• Interpreting boundaries
• Legal obligations

Date:

Friday March 8^th, 9am – 4pm in the 4^th floor training room.

Location:
Catholic Charities

2740 SE Powell Blvd #8

Portland, OR 97202

Facilitator:
Toc Soneoulay-Gillespie, MSW is the Youth Services Program Manager at Impact NW and has served as a community organizer and trainer in the refugee and immigrant community since 2004. With the guidance from the State Refugee Coordinator, Mrs. Soneoulay-Gillespie implemented the very first Fundamentals of Interpreting training in Anchorage, Alaska using dialogue, roles plays, and other tools to enhance the knowledge and understanding of interpreting as a profession.

The space is limited to 30 participants and spots are filling up quick, so please sign up as soon as possible to reserve a spot.
 
TO REGISTER: email Patty Narvaez: pnarvaez@catholiccharitiesoregon.org or call 503-688-2692 (My office hours are: M,T,Th, F  8:30am to noon)

You Can't Travel Without Money

Greetings Volunteers. We hope this blog post finds you in good spirits as the spring season starts to peek through the rolling clouds. At the office we are falling back in to the swing of new arrivals and the joy that comes with placing new families and clients in a new and promising environment. We are using this post to shed light on a conversation topic that would be helpful to have with the Refugees with whom you share your time. The topic: Migration and Refugee Service Travel Loans.

What is the Loan?

Refugees traveling to the U.S. are issued interest-free loans by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to pay for the cost of their transportation to the U.S.  Every refugee eighteen and over signs a Promissory Note acknowledging  this loan, and the commitment to repay the loan in regular monthly payments once they are settled, usually within six months.

Why is it Important?

This loan, like any other, affects the credit of the individual who signed for the funds. This means the travel loan affects credit just the same as a car or house loan would. A default status or inability to pay the payments on time will put a negative score on the credit of the family or individual. On-time payments build a healthy and valuable positive credit score for the clients to use to their advantage in the future.

What can we do?

As volunteers helping out with the newly arriving clients, you can educate them on the importance of staying up-to-date on their loan status. This includes the following:

·         Notifying both our program and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) of any address changes made by the family or clients

·         Preparing the family for the arrival of the first bill around  the 6^th month following their arrival

·         Educating about the effects a negative credit score can have on their financial well being

It is the client’s responsibility, as stated on the promissory note, to maintain an up-to-date address and contact number with USCCB. If they fail to do this, and don’t receive the invoice for their travel loan, the IOM and United States Government can take action against the default loan. Please use this information in mind when talking with your refugee partners.  As always, thank you for your hard work and dedication and feel free to call with any questions regarding the travel loans.

A B ...C You Later!

Family and tutoring volunteers  commit to six months of weekly meetings with their refugee family.  And while most volunteers work at least that long with their refugee partners, sooner or later life circumstances intervene. The volunteer (or, sometimes, the family) moves on.  Good-byes, however, are part of life, no matter where you live.  And in this situation, they’re always positive and poignant.

 Below are two notes from Jenna Ramaker, a volunteer who helped three Congolese boys with their homework and their English for a year and a half.  The first was written in May of 2012:

Things are going really well with the boys.  They are making good progress, and the family has continued to be really rewarding to work with.

Just within the last month of so, Brian has progressed a lot in being able to start reading on his own.  Prior to this, we’ve spent a lot of time stuck on the basics of the alphabet and vowel sounds, and just recently it seems to be all coming together for him…I’d  love it if he is able to read by next fall when he starts junior high.  B and A are also doing well.  B is getting much more proficient with his letters and numbers, and although he definitely still needs a lot of guidance, we are starting to work on addition and subtraction.

The family has been great, and are always great to interact with.  I’ve gotten to know some of the cousins and neighbors over the past couple of months, so it’s been a really good environment to work in. 

Working with the K family has continued to be an amazingly rewarding experience.

The final update…December 2012:

Just to update you, Dec. will be my last month volunteering with the K’s. It has been an amazing experience, and I'm sad that I won't be able to continue; I'm graduating school in a couple of months, and the new year has uncertainty as I look to be repositioned and anticipate having less flexibility as I settle into a new job and possibly new city. 

The boys have made so much progress since I started working with them, it has been fulfilling to be a part of it.  When I first met B, he didn't know the alphabet and in the past year and a half of working with him, he has learned to read.  He also went from not being able to count, to learning addition, subtraction, and recently, multiplication.  C has mastered the alphabet and its sounds, counting, simple addition, and orally is much more advanced in English than when I started working with him.  As you can tell, I'm very proud of their accomplishments, and have found it really rewarding to work with the K family and the Catholic Charities refugee resettlement center. 

The other rewarding moment was each week when I’d arrive at the K’s house, hearing their two year-old sister start calling out my name, even before she spoke many other English words.

 I look forward to volunteering again in the future if circumstances permit!  

This is one volunteer, but she speaks for all of you who have every right to be proud.  Thank you, Jenna.

On a side note, if you’re working with someone who’s having difficulty mastering our alphabet sounds, here’s a link to a youtube video that might help.  It was created by Heidi Moses, another dedicated volunteer who not only mentors an Iraqi refugee but also facilitated the first stages of our ESL class.  Thank you, Heidi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4VEsx4ERqE

SAFRN??? What does this mean??

We in the Refugee Program would like to take some time to thank Erin Carkner who is leaving Catholic Charities to pursue her education. Erin was the Refugee Youth Advocate for the SAFRN, a collaborative program based in all three of Oregon’s resettlement agencies: Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW), Ecumenical Ministry’s SOAR (Sponsors Organized to Assist Refugees) program and the Catholic Charities’ program. Erin’s last day with us was January 11^th  and with a large good bye party, we showed how much we’ve appreciated her work and how much we’ll miss her.

Erin Carkner is on the far left

SAFRN stands for “School Assistance for Refugee Newcomers.”  Funded by the federal government, the SAFRN program provides much-needed support to newly arrived refugee youth entering Portland’s school system.  Most of these students speak little or no English, and many have had no exposure to Western styles of education.  SAFRN also offers educational support to schools heavily impacted by new refugee arrivals.

Erin, like her colleagues in the other two resettlement agencies, carried a large caseload of new refugee students.  She worked with students throughout their first year in this country, helping register them for school, learn to ride the bus, understand what their teachers expected of them, and how to socialize with their peers.  She also organized parent workshops, and helped Portland teachers recognize and address the special challenges newly arrived refugee youth face.

Erin also started what is now an annual program: the Refugee Youth Summer School, where refugee students in first through fifth grade can practice their new English, math and reading skills, and newly arrived students discover what it means to attend an American school.

 Assimilation is a very difficult task for all our refugees. With SAFRN, the challenge becomes a little easier for refugee youth and their families. We extend our thanks to the collaborating agencies, and to you, our volunteers, who also help pave the way to a new life for refugee youth.

 

Shopping??? Why Yes I will.

A Look Inside a Shopping Trip to Deseret Industries

For the past five months I have had the privilege of accompanying our clients on a shopping trip to Deseret Industries (DI) located on SE 82^nd Ave. The information below is a glance at what the average trip entails as well as the barriers and laughter that weave themselves in the experience. 

Upon arrival at the DI store, our clients are briefed on what to expect. For many, this is the first clothing store they have walked into for quite some time. Furthermore, the main point we have to communicate is that this shopping trip is free for them, provided through the generosity of The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The amount of money allowed depends on family size, need and what items they might require in addition to clothing. Once those minor topics are explained, the fun begins.

For many of our refugees, clothing and shoe sizes don’t match up to what we have come to know here in the United States. Depending on the country or regions from where they came, they may have different notions of how to gauge size. Therefore, trying to find out each client’s size has come to be a rather intriguing process.

I have seen the patented hold-it-up to-my-body method, the check-my-pants-tag method, and the rarely used method of using the dressing room to try the clothes on.  There is always laughter that breaks out when pants are way too small or shoes way too tight, or when the cart overflows or gestures are misinterpreted.

My time spent shopping with our clients has been one filled with a grateful outlook.

I have come to know a lot of the employees by name, and they have always greeted us with a smile and a helping hand, knowing full well that there will be many translations lost in the experience. Through Deseret Industries we have helped over 135 of our clients obtain necessary clothing, books and household supplies. We would like to thank them for their constant support and flexibility during the first year of our grant, and we look forward to working with them in the future.

If you are working with a family that needs clothing please feel free to give me a call at 503-688-2684. 

Happy New Year, 

Shane Young

Catholic Charities Comes Through for Refugee with Rare Medical Condition

On Wednesday, November 28^th, Refugee Resettlement’s own Brendon Robar was the featured speaker at Catholic Charities Donor Recognition Luncheon.  As a Case Manager, Brendon has worked with refugees from all over the world, including Iraq, Iran, Burma, Bhutan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Somalia.  Below is the text of his talk, describing how a recent arrival, a refugee from Iraq, needed and received care for a serious medical condition. 

I began working with the Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement team 5 years ago as the donation coordinator. In that role I may have actually picked up furniture donations from some of you. Almost 3 years ago, I began working as a case manager. In this role I work with our refugee clients for a full 8 months, and sometimes longer. This gives me the blessing of getting to know them better. And I also get to do a whole lot more paperwork!

Refugee Resettlement officially began in 1951, when the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees established the definition of a refugee, which is someone who "is outside the country of his nationality because of a well-founded fear of being persecuted because of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion, and is unable to return to his country." That's a complicated way of saying that refugees are regular people who decided it was better to pack what they could carry on their backs and leave their own country than to risk what might happen to them if they stayed. It's hard to imagine a situation bad enough to force people to leave not just their homes and cities—but their countries! All the refugees we work with at Catholic Charities have their own reasons for why they left, but I'd like to share one story of a refugee who arrived to Portland three months ago.

Allow me to introduce you to Samer Ibrahim. Samer and I were actually born in the same year—but on opposite sides of the world. Samer was born in Iraq. Samer was also born with Hemophilia, a rare genetic disorder that prevents his blood from clotting. If Samer cuts himself a band-aid won't fix it. Like most people with Hemophilia, Samer didn't know he was different from any other kid until he was about 4 years old and had his first skinned knee. In Iraq, Samer couldn't get the specific medical care that's needed to treat Hemophilia. Without medication, his knee continued to bleed internally from that first playground accident destroying the cartilage and ligaments that hold the knee together.

If Hemophilia without medication wasn't bad enough, Samer lived in Bagdad. I've heard stories from people out of Bagdad that are surreal. A note is left on your door: it's a death threat from some militant faction. The note says you are friends with someone who is helping the US Army, and they will kill you and your family because of it. You may have a coworker who leaves from work to get lunch but never returns. Days later, his body is found on the side of the road. People can only take so much of this before they decide it's better to become a refugee. This tipping point came sooner for Samer than for others because of his Hemophilia. Samer fled Iraq when he was only twenty years old leaving his two brothers, sister and his parents behind. Many people fled Iraq because of war, but Samer might be the only refugee who fled because of war and Hemophilia. Samer had two reasons to flee, and so he has twice the hope for his new life.

Samer fled Iraq and made it to Lebanon where he was first scrutinized by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the CIA to make sure he wasn't a terrorist. Then, he attended cultural orientation sessions, had several medical screenings and signed a promissory note acknowledging that his airfare is a loan. Finally, Samer boarded an airplane for Portland, Oregon. When I saw Samer walk off the airplane here in Portland, the pain from his knees was visible on his face.

When refugees arrive with serious medical conditions, we know beforehand so we can prepare. I called the clinic and was given instructions on what we needed to do from day one to care for Samer. Less than 24 hours after Samer landed in the US, we had an appointment at OHSU where he got that specific medication he couldn’t get his whole life in Iraq.  Samer is not yet 30, but the doctors tell him he has the knees of someone in his 90’s.

Within a few weeks Samer had a consultation at OHSU to see if he is a candidate for knee replacement surgery.  In my car after the appointment, Samer told me that this knee surgery is his dream.  It’s wonderful when we get to see the hope that our clients bring with them fulfilled; and in Samer’s case it’s all happening so quickly!  Samer will have knee replacement surgery within the next two months!

I want to thank you for giving to the work of Catholic Charities. Because of you, Catholic Charities helps almost 300 refugees every year to resettle in Portland.  It’s a privilege to join together with you to welcome the stranger to our table, as Jesus welcomes us.

Holiday thoughts

We hope the Thanksgiving season is treating all of you well, and that you know how grateful we are for your passion and commitment to helping refugee families establish new lives in our community.

As we wind down this year, we’d like to take a moment to announce a few opportunities for our folks during the coming months.

ESL

Finally, we’re able to offer an English language class here in the Catholic Charities building for current and former refugee clients.  Entirely volunteer-run (led by TEFL student Heidi Moses and Jesuit Volunteer/AmeriCorps Member Shane Young), the class runs from 10:30-12:00 every Thursday morning—except Thanksgiving, of course.  Class is casual, with one-on-one conversation and instruction as well as group exercises.  Everyone has fun and the time seems to fly, with students leaving each class with a little more English and a lot more self-confidence.  Tell your families: we’d love to have them join us.  Unfortunately, there’s no child care, so we can only welcome adults.

Head Start

Volunteers working with younger children, please note: applications for local Head Start programs are now available in our office, as well as online.  There are three main Head Start agencies serving neighborhoods where our families live. Community Action Head Start serves families in Beaverton, Hillsboro and Lake Oswego; Albina Head Start provides services to people living within the Portland Public School district, while Mount Hood Community Head Start assists clients in East Multnomah County.

To get on the waiting list for Head Star, and Early Head Start services, a family needs to complete the application form and bring it, along with birth certification, immunization record, and verification of income to the designated site.  Shane is available to help with this process.  Give him a call if you need assistance:  503-688-2684.

Remember, refugees who start off in Head Start are instantly set up for a higher rate of success than those who enter the public school system without any prior schooling.

Happy Holiday!