Switchboard Blog
Switchboard’s blog posts offer a wide range of insights on the newcomer experience, including practical tips for navigating the resettlement process, resource lists tailored to community needs, case studies about relevant programs, engaging stories of successful integration, and more.
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Find Food Resources for Newcomers in Your City, in Your State, and at the Federal Level
Across the United States, food insecurity is rising, and many low-income families, including refugees, asylees, and other Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)-eligible populations, are finding it harder to keep nutritious food on the table. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2023, nearly 47 million people, including 7.2 million children, lived in households that…
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In the last year, over 80,000 Afghan newcomers have arrived in the United States. As with most populations, there is a lot of diversity and complexity among Afghans, and knowledge of these nuances helps us better serve newcomers. Culturally aware communication is especially essential for strong rapport building, which leads to smooth and successful integration…
- Farid Saydee
In support of Afghan pilots who have resettled in the U.S., Upwardly Global published a landscape assessment and proposed program plan earlier this year. The scope of the research included a high-level overview of potential pathways in the U.S., as well as proposed tools for service providers to help these individuals find skill-aligned employment. This…
- Rebecca Fishman
As we enter the final months of 2022, it’s clear that refugee resettlement in the United States looks different than it did in past years. Refugee Housing Solutions spoke to Christina Bruce-Bennion, Service Coordination Program Manager at the Idaho Office for Refugees, about navigating these shifts as they pertain to housing partnerships. Bruce-Bennion has worked…
- Sophia Martin
The Question of Compassion People working in refugee resettlement are often motivated by compassion. This is perhaps especially true for those who engage directly with clients—caseworkers, casework assistants, volunteers, interpreters, and the range of housing, education, and employment specialists. Compassion is defined by Trzeciak & Mazzarelli as an “emotional response to another’s pain or suffering,…
- Graeme Rodgers
Do you support refugees and newcomers with affordable housing services? This blog post is for you! Switchboard has partnered with Refugee Housing Solutions to share training and promising practices related to housing solutions for newcomers. Today, we’re spotlighting the innovative housing work of World Learning Inc., a global nonprofit and accredited academic institution with a…
- Yasmine Noubani
Switchboard is committed to sharing stories of lived experiences with service providers across the U.S. Today, Switchboard is sharing the anonymous story of an Afghan American Social Worker who arrived in the United States as an Unaccompanied Refugee Minor. Experiences in the U.S. Foster Care System At the early age of 14, I was forced…
- Switchboard