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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Child Care Resources for Refugee Service Providers: Ensuring Working Families Thrive
Refugee and newcomer families are often confronted with the daunting challenge of integrating into a new society while seeking gainful employment. This can be especially
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Refugee and newcomer clients may be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) depending on their age or health condition. However, applying for SSI is a long and complicated process. With contributions from Kara Friesen, Bayle Conrad, Dr. Andrea Green, and Dr. Meera Siddharth, this blog post answers some of the most common FAQs about SSI […]
This August marks the two-year anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan. During this two-year period, the United States has welcomed over 90,000 Afghan evacuees through Operation Allies Welcome. Since 2021, resettlement agencies, state agencies, and community-based organizations have worked tirelessly to support Afghan newcomers’ integration into local communities. As the process of integration […]
In a previous post, we shared the Society of Refugee Healthcare Provider’s directory of healthcare providers who serve refugees and immigrants. In this post, we share more details about how organizations can create their own directory tailored for their location and clients’ needs. What is this directory used for? A health care provider directory is […]
Safe, sanitary, and affordable housing is a prerequisite for well-being. But securing housing of this standard is difficult—particularly for newcomers to the United States. Many of Refugee Housing Solutions’ resources highlight ways to secure housing and avoid homelessness. If you are a newcomer, or are working with a newcomer, who is homeless or at risk […]
Over the last 40 years, the U.S. has admitted between 22,000 and 230,000 refugees annually. While refugees and immigrants arrive with rich cultural food traditions, many of which are health-promoting, they can erode over time, resulting in diet-related disease rates similar to those of U.S.-born populations. Structural inequalities, transit limitations, and a lack of affordable, […]
Many newly arriving refugees and humanitarian parolees are about to experience their first summer in the United States. Depending on where they have settled, they may find themselves in an unfamiliar weather environment with new summer activities available to them. These new environments may include exposure to extreme and prolonged heat, different UV indexes, and […]