Forced Displacement

Options

Independent Funding Available, Potential for UROP Funding, Potential for Work-Study Funding

Overview

How does a resettlement organization best train volunteers and students to support refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants? This is a timely question, as the gutting of the resettlement system from 2016-20 forced organizations to cut staff and/or pivot to other projects and efforts. Our partners at IINE are now rebuilding their organizations. Our project is a qualitative study that will survey staff, interns, and volunteer experiences. We will also interview staff at IINE about their work, volunteer training programs, and support systems, as well as what resources they feel they need to better serve their volunteers and displaced populations. In response to the interviews, CFD will develop training modules/courses to implement with IINE staff and assess the impact of the courses through focus group conversations and surveys. Ultimately, we ask, what does this work mean to the volunteers, interns, and professionals? What do they want to learn? What support do they need to do their work? Additionally, what to university faculty and researchers learn through their interactions with staff, interns, and volunteers at a resettlement organization? How can universities and NGOs collaborate most effectively to meet the goals of both?

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