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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Building Community Partnerships Across the Resettlement Landscape: Tips for Getting Started
As funding streams tighten and resettlement agencies operate with fewer staff, building strong community partnerships is critical. Newcomers’ needs are complex, requiring holistic, coordinated responses that no single organization can handle alone. Yet for many providers, developing effective collaborative networks can feel challenging. Through Switchboard’s nationwide mapping and referral efforts, we have seen firsthand how…
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For newcomers adjusting to life in a foreign country, financial insecurity often emerges as one of the most pressing and difficult challenges to overcome. To support successful integration of newcomers and empower them to build financial stability, service providers must equip clients with the necessary knowledge and tools to navigate the financial system here in…
- Lauren Bowden
For newcomers to equitably receive the vital integration services they are eligible for, language access is essential. As service providers know, working with a professional in-person or telephonic interpreter from the same cultural and linguistic background as the client is always ideal. But live interpretation is not always possible given the demands of newcomer services.…
- Rob Callus
With a current rental vacancy rate of just six percent, housing in the United States is difficult to secure. Several factors—credit requirements, income level, transportation needs, and family size, to name a few—further complicate the housing search for newcomers. Finding housing that fits a client’s needs, eligibility, and the housing standards set by the Bureau…
- Sophia Martin
As people gather with loved ones or community members, it is important to note that there is a current surge of three highly contagious respiratory viruses—COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and influenza (flu). These viruses can cause similar symptoms and require specific testing to diagnose. This “tripledemic” is leading to a greater number of people…
- NRC-RIM
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. The tips in this post will get you started in forming positive landlord relationships to help secure housing for clients.…
- Yasmine Noubani
Do you support refugees and other 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 sharing information about the diversity of public housing programs, how newcomers can reach out to the U.S.…
- Sophia Martin