'Happier families, happier students': How Denver's community hubs are helping migrants

As an increasing number of asylum seekers arrive in New York, the Mid-Manhattan Adult Learning Center has expanded its services beyond English language classes to connect students with food aid, help them get official identification, and put them in contact with legal immigration services. The center’s enrollment increased by roughly 40 percent to 3,700 students this year, but it needs more funding and support to keep up with demand.

A closed school was converted into a shelter for some of the nearly 200 migrants arriving in Chicago. In tandem, local residents and faith-based groups started the Chicago 4 All initiative to help provide them with the necessary resources to settle in.

The Dream Center is providing a free schoolroom in Nashville for the children of single parents to stay on track for school. The nonprofit, which is run and staffed by volunteers, provides free meals to 32 students throughout the day, and helps them complete their daily lessons, all while following Covid-19 protocols.

Historically there has been stigma and pushback to bilingual and immigrant programs, but some counties are starting to embrace diversity as key to economic development. Greater diversity spurs innovation, entrepreneurship, and population growth in rural areas, recognition of these benefits has eased the stigma and encouraged more immigrant programs.

In low-income districts, the school nurse is often a family’s first health care provider, and the role at places like Wildwood High School and Glenwood Avenue School has expanded to provide everything from warm coats and food donations for children and their families living in hunger.

The Migrant Education Program, which offers educational and social services to migrant worker families in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, is growing in popularity among the valley’s migrant worker population, and has recently begun to focus on getting migrant students geared up for college .

In the Middle East, refugee camps are expensive to run-- particularly because shipping food aid is expensive, and the refugees feel victimized in an environment where they have no agency or purchasing power. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has moved refugees in Jordan out of camps and has given cash instead of in-kind aid, and new possibilities emerge with mobile money by the aid of new technology. The results have shown that refugees feel more empowered and the costs associated with their aid are reduced.

The Twilight Education Club is a non-profit working to break down the barriers – transportation, child care and cost – that typically prevent the economically disadvantaged from accessing social services such as language classes. While the Twilight program is specifically geared toward the needs of the parents - getting better jobs and securing greater stability - the long-term focus remains on creating future opportunities for their children.

The basketball academy in Queens teaches basketball and English language skills to Spanish-speaking immigrant children. The academy helps youth navigate culture shock, bullying and the lack of community they may feel when they first arrive in the country, while ensuring they still maintain a sense of their parents’ language and culture.

In partnership with other local organizations and advocacy groups, Communities for Kids trains providers to offer Spanish-language childcare, as the state lacks sufficient access to culturally responsive, bilingual care. The training is free and has already licensed several individuals who now run their own Spanish-speaking childcare centers.