Another Addition



RefugeeWorks is pleased to announce another addition to the blogging team -- Dawn Zuckerman!

A former Peace Corps volunteer, Dawn Zuckerman started at Jewish Family & Children's Service of Pittsburgh (JFCS) in 2005 as an intern while earning her Master's in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh.  She was hired upon graduation as an employment specialist, overseeing multiple employment programs for immigrants and refugees, including the Refugee Social Service Program and the Matching Grant Program.  

Dawn recently presented at Refugee Works Matching Grant Employment Training Institute held this past March in Atlanta. She has also developed and ran training sessions at the 2011 Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society conference, and at several conferences and consultations in Pennsylvania. One of her favorite topics to present on is “Culturally Competent Job Readiness Skills.”  Through her experiences and sensitivity to the cultural adjustment process, she has been able to streamline the job search process to a shorter timeframe while simultaneously producing higher outcomes for JFCS of Pittsburgh.

Look for her contributions on the blog to be out of the box and insightful. Be sure to leave comments with your thoughts!

P.S.  Email information@refugeeworks.org if you would like to contribute to the blog.  We are always looking for more voices, ideas, and thoughts about refugee employment.

Welcome to the Refugee Resource Room for Employment!

Exodus Refugee’s Resource Room opened in February, and staff has already had the pleasure of serving over 20 individual clients who are seeking employment support. Generously made possible through grant funds, this space is a drop-in computer lab for clients to complete job applications, do internet searches, and paper applications are of course always on hand! Clients can receive individualized employment support as the Resource Room is always staffed with both interns and Employment Staff!

Our Employment Department encourages clients to attend during open hours to discuss their individual employment efforts, needs, and concerns. Open 2 days a week for 2 hours at a time, this format provides a structured timeframe and environment to deliver employment services in a comprehensive way. Special considerations are always also made for clients who cannot attend during these hours and staff always does their best to accommodate clients’ individual scheduling needs. This service offered has also expanded to include workshops focused on resume building and writing, which also provides an excellent opportunity for community volunteers to get involved! Not only is this a great service to provide to our clients, but the time and materials donated may also be counted as “match” towards our Matching Grant Program.

One other resource available is the “interview clothes closet” where interview appropriate clothing for both men and women is available to clients if they need it before a job interview. Donations and a few bought items stock the “clothes closet”. Recently, a client who completed our Hospitality Training Program accessed items from the closet for a hotel housekeeping job interview at a local downtown hotel, and she was offered the job on the spot!

All of these services combined have created a space that is designed for our clients to have a place that is devoted entirely to them and their quest of obtaining and maintaining meaningful employment! Employment Staff is dedicated to taking any and all necessary steps to provide continuing support towards clients’ employment needs, which undoubtedly is THE gateway towards our ultimate goal of self-sufficiency!

What kinds of resources are available in your community to assist refugees who are seeking work?

UNHCR’s Inaugural Refugee Congress and ORR's Annual Consultation

The Office of Refugee Resettlement is accepting nominations for participation at ORR’s National Consultation on August 1-2, 2011 as well as UNHCR’s first Refugee Congress to be held immediately following the consultation on August 3-4, 2011.  Opportunities are available to participate in person as well as through special “Refugee Voices” media presentations.

Voluntary agencies, community based organizations, and MAAs are asked to submit nominations of refugees to participate, via their State Refugee Coordinators, by April 30^th.  State Refugee Coordinators will then forward a list of up to five (5) nominations from each state, and ORR and UNHCR will review the nominations upon receipt. 

For more information, read letters from ORR and UNHCR at http://www.refugeeworks.org/.

New GAO Report

Yesterday, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled, "Refugee Assistance: Little is Known About the Effectiveness of Different Approaches for Improving Refugees’ Employment Outcomes.”

You can view the report here: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11369.pdf

A Little More About Jesamyn

We are happy to have Jesamyn join the RefugeeWorks blogging team.  Please do leave comments for her (and the other writers!) so we know you stopped by.

Meet Jesamyn

Jesamyn is the Coordinator of Employment Services for Exodus Refugee Services in Indianapolis, Indiana.  She actively seeks new businesses who will employ refugee clients and acts as a liaison between job seekers and employers. She educates employers about the skills of newly arriving refugees and serves as a contact to troubleshoot any issues that may arise after they are hired.   Jesamyn also supervises other staff as well as interns to execute the overall vision for the Employment Department.   Recently spear-headed the opening of the Refugee Resource Center, housed within Exodus Refugee Services.  This new center provides a comprehensive collection of community referral information as well as a clothes closet with professional clothes and accessories for those first interviews.

Jesamyn says that her favorite part of her job is, “seeing families gain "self-sufficiency" and become contributing members of the Indianapolis community. I gain a deep feeling of professional and personal satisfaction when I know that efforts made by myself or other staff have a positive and lasting impact on people’s lives. I consider sustainable and meaningful employment to be THE gateway to self-sufficiency!”

Outside of work, Jesamyn  enjoys spending time with her family and friends, visiting art galleries and having a good conversation over dinner with a good bottle of wine.  She can also be found hunting for vintage furniture, trying on the latest fashion trends and discovering hidden treasures in places she visits and the people she meets.

P.S.  RefugeeWorks is always looking for blog writers from the front lines who can share insights and express  challenges they face in helping refugees work.  If you would like to contribute to the blog, email Rebecca Armstrong at rarmstrong@refugeeworks.org.

Greetings from Indianapolis!

Hello out there!

I am beyond thrilled to be joining Refugee Works as a contributing blogger! Thanks to the wonderful folks I recently met at the Refugee Works Match Grant Educational Training Institute: Atlanta, I am able to share with you insider information from the world of refugee resettlement. Working with refugees certainly is a dynamic and ever-changing environment to be a part of, and the resilience and determination of my clients is nothing short of amazing. As an Employment Developer and Coordinator of Employment Services, it is my job to "get the word out" about who refugees are, and what they have to offer as unique and dedicated employees in the workplace. How does one do this you may ask? You will find the answer to this question and many more as this quest unfolds in postings to come...so stay tuned! Employment Staff has been, and will always be dedicated to seeing each and every client succeed, and I am pleased to say we have come up with some creative and interesting ways to achieve this! For starters, our Hospitality Training Program is generating buzz around the community...clients are looking for real solutions to prepare them to enter the U.S. workforce or to go after that higher paying and more stable job. The course is an excellent intensive as well as short-term training option, and clients are able to attend these weekly classes in our newly opened Refugee Resource Center!

My first experience working with refugees began almost a year ago, when I came to work at Exodus Refugee Immigration, Inc. in Indianapolis, Indiana. Working for non-profits is not a new role for me, but working so closely with clients from such diverse backgrounds is. My eyes were immediately opened..wide open!! There is something to be said for the determination that propels us forward, drives us to take one more step along the path of "stepping stones", and allows us to connect with others in a deep and meaningful way. The human spirit never fails to amaze and inspire me. Refugees are people that have literally been forced to flee for their lives, or face persecution and/or imprisonment, and it is our responsibility to help them build new ones. I am proud to say that Indianapolis holds an eclectic mix of people and opportunities, and celebrating these differences can only enrich the fabric of our community. Please join me in this journey of information sharing and discovery, reporting from the "front lines", and client and employer success stories! As always, comments and questions are welcome at any time. Thank you for taking the time to read, and get ready to take a ride on a journey that you hopefully will find exciting and useful as you contribute to the community of wherever you happen to work, live, and love.

Best Wishes,

Jesamyn

Handouts about Staffing Agencies -- download HERE!

Here are the links to the handouts Lorel mentioned in the previous post. We hope you will find them useful for your staff and clients.

Caritas of Austin Staffing Agency Overview

Employment Agencies Overview by Lutheran Family Services of Colorado

Leave a comment with any ideas, resources or links you use in your work with staffing agencies.