7 H. San Diego Refugee Forum WHEN 2016 ANNUAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Membership and Attendance a. b. c. Member Organizations Individual Members Attendance Summary II. Task Force Reports a. b. c. d. e. Advocacy Task Force Asylum/Asylee Seeker Task Force Domestic Violence Task Force Employment Task Force Health Task Force III. Events a. World Refugee Day IV. Financial Report V. Meeting Minutes a. b. General Forum Meeting Minutes Executive Committee Meeting Minutes 1 1. Membership and Attendance .4 . 7 San Diego .1 Refugee Forum MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS African Coalition Workforce Alliance for African Assistance Alliance Health Clinic CASA Cornelia Legal Services California Museum of Women Catholic Charities, Diocese of San Diego Chaldean-Middle Eastern Social Services County of San Diego, Health and Human Services Crittenton Services for Children and Family Episcopal Refugee Network Family Health Centers of San Diego Friendship for Hope/Refugee Assimilation Project Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Auxiliary International Christian Adoptions International Rescue Committee, San Diego Jewish Family Services Karen Organization of San Diego Kurdish Human Rights Watch, Inc. La Maestra Community Health Centers License to Freedom Molina Healthcare Native Interpreting New Americans Museum Nile Sisters Development Initiative Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest Public Consulting Group ResCare San Diego Unified School District Somali Family Service of San Diego Southern California Immigration Project Survivors of Torture, International Union of Pan Asian Communities United Nation Association of San Diego United Women of East Africa University of California, San Diego – Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Women’s Empowerment International 3 INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS Bonnie Copland Nicole Keith Oren Robinson ATTENDANCE SUMMARY The San Diego Refugee Forum was attended by 225 different individuals from 80 different organizations in 2016. 4 II. Task Force Reports cl . 7 San Diego Refugee Forum ADVOCACY TASK FORCE Background: The Refugee Forum has had various ongoing task force meetings on issues such as Health Care, Domestic Violence, Employment, and Asylum/Asylee Seekers. Task force members saw an opportunity to build on this foundation fully and the collective strengths of forum members to address issues that may not fit into an existing task force. As refugee resettlement, has become an election topic, founding members wanted to establish an ongoing effort to spotlight the need to reframe the narrative of refugees positively, educate the public, and dispel myths of resettlement in the U.S. Purpose: The purpose of this task force is to establish a framework for working together to advance the economic, social and civic inclusion of refugees in San Diego County. As a task force, we will leverage the power of our Forum to advocate for more services, to lift up the civic engagement capacity of refugees, and to proactively create networks of mutual support and dialogue. As advocates, we will promote inclusive communities that are culturally vibrant with strong local economies reflective of refugees. Monthly Meeting: Every Third-Thursday of the Month Participation and Membership: Name Mejgan Afshan Alexiz Martinez Rebecca Miranda Artemisa Valle Kayleen Herron Naimo Ali Megeney Mainguo Diana Rhoades Amina Mohamed Robin Buchanan Ramla Sahid David Murphy Nao Kabashima Elaine McLevie Arwa Zakir April Moo Organization International Rescue Committee Alliance for African Assistance Global Voice for Autism Casa Cornelia Law Center Jewish Family Services Somali Family Service Mental Health America Karen Organization of San Diego Mental Health America Alliance for African Assistance Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans - PANA International Rescue Committee Karen Organization of San Diego Episcopal Refugee Network Casa Cornelia Law Center Karen Organization of San Diego 6 ASYLUM/ASYLEE SEEKER TASK FORCE Meetings: Varies Monthly, Doodle Poll Given to Determine Members Availability to Increase Attendance Location: Survivors of Torture, International Asylum seekers are one of the most underserved communities, and they are high-risk for homelessness as they have barriers to accessing resources due to their immigration status and not having documents to access financial benefits, work permits, and other supports to meet basic needs. The Asylum Task Force team has been working on increasing the number of regular attendees as only a small number of organizations serve asylum seekers. The goal of increasing membership is to increase community partnerships to address asylum seeker’s barriers to services. The Task Force worked this year on mapping resources available to asylum seekers and has partnered with 2-1-1 to have resources coded in their database to allow asylum seekers and providers to call 2-1-1 to learn about resources available to those with an asylum seeker legal status. The group also met to discuss the increase of arrivals at the US-Mexico Border and began to strategize how to serve an increase in asylum seekers once entering the United States. The Task Force also presented at the Refugee Forum to increase awareness of the needs of this group within the refugee provider community, and to encourage ongoing support of this high-risk community. Members: Name Title Agency Elizabeth Lopez, Chair Executive Director Southern California Immigration Project Erika Hess, Co-Chair Senior Mental Health Clinician Survivors of Torture, International Abdi Abdillahi Refugee Coordinator County of San Diego, HHSA Carmen Kcomt Director of the Legal Advocacy & La Maestra- Human Trafficking & Immigration Programs Social Services Department Tammy Lin Immigration Attorney Law Office of Tammy Lin Aidee Roman Community Partnership Manager 211 Donna Tang MSW Intern Survivors of Torture, International Arwa Zakir Attorney Director of Asylum Program Casa Cornelia Law Center 7 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TASK FORCE The Domestic Violence Task Force team continues to recruit more community members to be a part of the task force’s mission to finding solutions to the major challenges that refugees face here in San Diego (i.e. find more trauma informed resources, more awareness and education efforts on domestic violence dynamics and cycles). On May 7th, the task force was part of the refugee community forum in El Cajon to present and address domestic violence and healthy relationships. License to Freedom also participated at the Domestic Violence Hope Rally in October and invited members from the refugee communities to join the walk and to be part of the solution to end family violence. We also translated a lot of fliers and documents from English to Arabic. The DV Task Force met with another group to address the need for refugee mental health services as a top priority. Through the monthly meetings, we realized that it is extremely important to address mental health services and domestic violence. Since License to Freedom is the only organization that provides domestic violence services to the refugees, it creates a need for funding in order to expand services for refugees and immigrants. There is a lack of opportunities for mental health services for refugees and survivors of domestic violence due to a lack of funding and shortage of therapists who speak their language. We are in a process to plan for next year to conduct two domestic violence community forums with refugee youth to address healthy relationships for the new Syrian families to address domestic violence, child abuse, acculturation, and navigation through the American justice system. 8 EMPLOYMENT TASK FORCE Events Hosted By the SD Refugee Forum Employment Taskforce since April 2016: 4/19/2016 Evolution Hospitality Hiring Event held at the International Rescue Committee Offices Drew over 100 job seekers Due to the success of the first Evolution Hospitality Hiring Event, a second Evolution Hospitality Hiring Event was hosted on 5/25/2016 at the Hilton Mission Valley drawing another 100 job seekers 7/19/2016 Walmart Hiring Event held at the South Metro Career Center drew over 150 job seekers Due to the success of the first Walmart Hiring Event, a second Walmart Hiring Event was hosted on 9/14/2016 at the South Metro Career Center drawing another 150 job seekers Causes: Wage Theft, provided wage theft education, reporting, and prevention information to employment services providers. Members: Co-chair as of 4/2016 Bonni Cutler, Employment Supervisor, Catholic Charities Co-chair Renee Nasouri, Navigator/Educational Case Manager, Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Jenny Daniel, Employment Coordinator, Jewish Family Services Deona Dorsey, Operations Manager-Special Projects, San Diego Metro Region Career Centers Ziad Eskharia, BBSD Employment Specialist, San Diego Metro Region Career Centers Ilena Gudino, Job Developer, Jewish Family Services Kirsten Moore, Senior Employer Relations Specialist, International Rescue Committee Mohammed Tuama, Business Services Consultant, Public Consulting Group Meetings: 3rd Monday of every month, various locations 9 HEALTH TASK FORCE Early in 2016 the Health Task Force agreed to sponsor monthly health topics to share on the Forum website. Topics shared have included heart health, nutrition, and safety to name a few. Our main project this year looked at how understanding medi-cal plans needs streamlining. The HTF agreed that medi-cal access could be clarified if the approved medi-cal case already had a plan requested for assignment, eliminating the need to contact medi-cal after the card is received; this lead to the map project, which can be downloaded from the SD Refugee Forum website. The aim of the map is to assist in choosing a plan by identifying commonly used community clinics and which plans support them, language access and if transportation is included. After the hard copy maps were completed, an app was also produced to create another easy access to determining health plans that coordinate care with desired clinic locations. Christine Murto provided a presentation and demonstration for the July SD Refugee Forum meeting. Mid-year co-chair Dianne Bourque changed positions and had to resign. Rebecca Paida agreed to come on board and take her place. Since that time the task force has brainstormed on advancing the map/app and encouraging use. We have now formed a sub-committee that will continue enhancements to the app, as well as coordinating efforts with 211. In September Rebecca Paida was able to present the map/app to the Office of Minority Health 3 rd annual United States Conference on Refugees and Immigrant Health with an oral presentation that included a demonstration of the many booklets used to select a plan, the basics of which are included in the app. The presentation was well received, including interest from the Substance and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) who see benefit for mental health. We finished the year with a presentation on Healthy Homes, by Chris Lee from the City of San Diego lead abatement program, which helps to assess and provide assistance to make homes safer from lead. (we recommend a presentation to the entire SD Refugee Forum). The HTF likes to plan forward, and with that in mind Madelyne Wagner has stepped forward to be the cochair with Rebecca Paida for the next term. The HTF is already considering priorities for 2017. 10 .4 . 7 ft: San Diego Ev Refugee Forum 111. Events 11 WORLD REFUGEE DAY Planning for the 2016 World Refugee Day (WRD) Celebration began on March 1, 2016; when the WRD Planning Committee met for the first time to discuss this year’s event. The Committee is made up of representatives from various organizations that serve the refugee populations in San Diego, including the County of San Diego, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Chaldean and Middle Eastern Social Services, El Cajon Collaborative, Jewish Family Services of San Diego, the Karen Organization of San Diego, ResCare Workforce Services, and Crittenton Services for Children and Family. The San Diego Refugee Forum (SDRF) sponsors the event each year, the total cost for the World Refugee Day 2016 celebration was only $126.87 (for activity table materials) because the event was held at a public library that did not require a fee to use the space. WRD celebrations have been held in various parts of San Diego over the past several years, including Balboa Park, the Jacob Center, and at Prescott Promenade Park in downtown El Cajon. Each year the Committee works together to choose a location that is not only easily accessible for all attendees, but also in an area where our refugee communities reside. The Committee determined that the City Heights Library was a great central location that would attract a lot of attendees from both the refugee and non-refugee community; additionally, the library had ample outdoor space and a stage with a sound system to utilize for speakers and performers. The event was held on June 25, 2016 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM at the City Heights/Weingart Branch Library, located at 3795 Fairmount Avenue, San Diego, CA 92105. The goal of the 2016 WRD Celebration was to celebrate the diversity of San Diego’s refugee population, showcase the cultures and customs of home countries, provide economic opportunity for refugees to sell their handmade items, and strengthen the understanding among community members to create a more welcoming community for all. With various vendors, resource tables, cultural performances, and community resource tables, WRD 2016 offered a culturally vibrant atmosphere to all those that attended the celebration. The 2016 WRD event started at 1:00 PM, Deona Dorsey, a SDRF member and Planning Committee member opened the event by welcoming all that were in attendance and spoke about how the event’s purpose was to celebrate our vibrant refugee community. This year’s event was made even more special as San Diego Mayor Faulconer’s Office presented us with a City Proclamation; Anthony George one of the Mayor’s Community Representatives presented the Proclamation to Kathi Anderson, SDRF Chair and announced that June 25 th is now World Refugee Day in San Diego. The SDRF was honored to have Anthony attend the event and present the Proclamation on behalf of the Mayor and as an individual from a refugee family himself. 12 Cultural Performances The 2016 WRD celebration included performances from 4 different refugee groups including: traditional Burmese dance and music performances by the Karen Organization of San Diego, Chaldean culture dancing by the Tellskuf Chaldean Association, Congolese music and dancing from the Shekinah Ministries, and Vietnamese music and dancing by the Vietnamese Community of San Diego. International Craft Market and Cultural Booths A popular aspect of the WRD events are the vendor tables where refugees and/or organizations that support refugee communities sell handmade items. 2016 WRD had vendors from the Syrian, Vietnamese, Central American, Iraqi, Burmese, Ugandan, and Pakistani communities. In addition, we had cultural tables to showcase textiles, maps, photos, clothing and other items from the Iraqi, Burmese, Afghani, Vietnamese, and Kurdish communities. These cultural tables allowed the refugee communities to show the event attendees a piece of their homeland and proudly display items near and dear to them, their families, and culture. There were additional cultural tables that included hands-on activities for participants (especially children) such as henna tattoos, how to write “hello” in different languages, how to use a mortar and pestle, and how to tie an African skirt. Unfortunately, there were no food vendors at the event this year; the Planning Committee for 2017 WRD will work to have food as an option for next year, as it is a draw to the event from the community. Resource Tables by SDRF Member Organizations 7 community organizations participated the event by hosting resource tables at the event, they include: Alliance for African Assistance, Chaldean Middle Eastern Social Services, Crittenton Services, Karen Organization of San Diego, License to Freedom, Native Interpreting, Survivors of Torture International, Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA), and ResCare Workforce Services. Outreach Efforts Various types of outreach were done to inform as many individuals, organizations, communities, and groups as possible to generate interest and participation in 2016 WRD. Information and flyers were sent to the SDRF listserve (which includes approximately 150 recipients), announcements were made at the SDRF meetings and at various community meetings throughout San Diego, representatives from various local government representatives were made aware of the event, and a Facebook advertisement was purchased in the month prior to the event (which reached 2,425 individuals). Flyers and event information was provided at many businesses (many of which are refugee owned) in the surrounding areas of the library to promote attendance and participation. 13 Celebrating World Refugee Day San Diego 2016 CULTURAL PERFORMANCES I YOUTH ACTIVITIES I ARTISANS I CRAFTS I COMMUNITY RESOURCES Saturday - June 25, 2016 1:00 PM - City Heights/Weingart Branch Library Performance Annex 3795 Fairmount Avenue, San Diego, CA 92105 SERVING ALL THOSE WHO SEEK REFUGE IN SAN DIEGO DAY W?T?li'. San Diego Refugee Forum 14 .World l,l San DiegO'hond Re?ugee Da, 'H'vh'