Lansing-based
Refugee Development Center has just received a $97,000 grant from the state to help refugee parents acclimate to the American school system and to other cultural resources.
The center is hiring, and
seeks a person to orient parents of school-age children, lead weekly parent groups, develop a written resource for teachers and staff, and more. The application deadline is Sept. 14.
Every year 500 to 600 refugees come to the Capital region and the center helps them to settle in. Most of the families with children settle in the
Lansing School District area, which now has students from 73 countries speaking 55 languages, says Shirin Timms, center spokesperson.
“The center has for a couple of years worked with school children, helping them understand appropriate behavior and the need for hard work. Now we can hire someone to do that work with their parents,” Timms says.
Refugees who arrive in the United States with full documentation primarily come from Burma (formerly known as Myanmar), Iraq, Somalia and Bhutan. The center works with about 350 people a week.
“It is an incredible population to work with,” says Timms.
Source: Shirin Timms, Refugee Development Center
Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached
here.
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