Young Migrants Build New Lives Through Theater

The Manhattan Afghan Resettlement Team (MART) helps Afghan refugees escape Taliban oppression and build new lives in the U.S. MART helps to connect refugees with the local Islamic Center for meetings about adjusting to life in the U.S. and language courses, as well as help getting a Social Security card, a job and enrolling their children in school. To date, over 100 refugees have been successfully resettled.

The Skills Factory provides refugees and migrants a place to develop valuable skills, like phone repair, and express their creativity through activities like painting, photography, and furniture making. Not only does the Skills Factory provide a place for refugees to improve upon their skillsets, but it also offers a sense of community.

"The Nest" in Tijuana is a space for migrant children to relax and be themselves during a very stressful time. "The Nest" was established by the Pedagogical Institute of Los Angeles and sits across the street from a shelter where many of their students live. Parents and other migrants also benefit from the space which they describe as stress-relieving.

In California, the Community Justice Alliance created safe, youth-centered spaces focused on community-building and creative expression, including makeup artistry workshops and soccer meetups, to help immigrant youth arriving in the U.S. alone navigate feelings of isolation. These interventions aim to help teenagers build connections, reclaim their identities, and process difficult experiences in a supportive environment.

Lincoln Literacy addresses language barriers for immigrants and refugees through a volunteer-based ESL program that offers over 100 classes across nine locations in Lincoln, Nebraska. The organization's model includes community classes, workplace partnerships where employers pay for on-site instruction during work hours and a student-centered curriculum that adapts to real-world communication needs. The group has been operating since 1975.

The Lexington School for the Deaf provides wraparound family services including free American Sign Language classes and assistance navigating the health, legal and shelter systems, particularly for immigrant families. The gaps immigrant families face in accessing necessary services creates psychological distress, especially for children. But research shows community-based supports, like The Lexington School, help address those gaps and improve mental health outcomes.

The Heberthausen Asylum Support Group helps incoming migrants and refugees find housing, jobs and learn the German language to integrate with society and work towards citizenship.

Catholic Charities helps immigrants and refugees access housing and transition to life in a new country. Housing is the first step in the resettlement process, but Catholic Charities also helps immigrants find jobs, get their children in school and integrate into the community. In 2007, Fort Wayne welcomed 3,500 Burmese refugees. By 2016 the number had grown to more than 6,000 and counting.

The International Institute of Minnesota’s Bus Buddies program pairs volunteers with new Americans who need help navigating the Metro Transit system because it is run primarily in English. Volunteers take those in need of assistance on a ride to the place they need to get to so they can learn the route.

In Wales, the African Community Centre which has previously offered culturally competent mental health care services to youth in the African community in the city, has expanded its services to "Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) young people from asylum backgrounds, ranging from three to 18 years old." The center focuses on using play therapy and one-to-one counselling, but amid the pandemic, they have also introduced online options.