Welcoming America Awarded Federal Grant to Support Refugee Resettlement Community Engagement

Welcoming America is the recipient of a federal technical assistance competitive grant award from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).

Through the grant, Welcoming America will administer the Fostering Community Engagement and Welcoming Communities project, according to a Cooperative Agreement that will be established between ORR and Welcoming America.

The project, which will be further defined in consultation with ORR, will provide technical assistance to the refugee resettlement network, offering new tools and support to enhance and sustain resettlement work in local communities; build new partnerships; address challenging climates; and ensure the successful integration of the refugees in communities across the United States.

Welcoming America is honored to be a recipient of  the award from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and to be recognized as a lead technical assistance provider in the area of community engagement and outreach to receiving communities.

Welcoming America will provide technical assistance on core aspects of receiving community engagement (leadership, contact, and communications) through the use of technology, peer mentoring, and tool development and dissemination. Through a partnership with the Idaho Office for Refugees, Welcoming America will also help communities to foster more positive climates by engaging municipal government leaders, businesses, and other community partners, as well as refugees themselves, in creating strategic action plans to increase community capacity.

The result will be a robust community of practice established across refugee agencies, mainstream providers and geographic communities, and a more sustainable refugee resettlement program to support the long-term success of refugee families.