Cre Creat ating ing in incl clusi usive ve ec econo onomies: mies: Ho How w to to op open en op oppo portuni rtunities ties to to re refu fugees gees August 9, 2016 This webinar will begin shortly. If you experience a problem signing on, please contact the Webex Technical Support Line at 1-866-229-3239 for direct assistance. The Welcoming Refugees Project is supported by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR/ACF/DHHS)
Session Objectives By the end of this webinar, participants will: • understand the importance of welcoming refugees into local economies • apply new strategies for increasing refugee participation in local economies • learn how to collaborate with local partners to strengthen their economic development work
Agenda • Welcoming Economies as a Win-Win Christina Pope, Welcoming America • Creating Welcoming Economies through Collaboration and Creativity Denise Beehag and Chris Mathias, International Institute of Buffalo • Building and Connecting Communities Natalie Cramer, Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians
Welcoming Economies
Welcoming Economies as a Win-Win
Defining Terms Successful economic development should put a metropolitan economy on a higher trajectory of long-run growth( growth ) by improving the productivity of individuals and firms in order to raise local standards of living ( prosperity ) for all people ( inclusion ). The Brookings Institution| Metropolitan Policy Program | 2016
Economic Development Strategies • Entrepreneurship • Rural development • Workforce development • Urban agriculture • Highly-skilled worker initiatives • Encouraging homeownership
Immigrant Entrepreneurship rates
Immigrants power America’s Main Streets
The Growing Movement of Immigrant Economic Development Across Rush Belt Cities
Creating Welcoming Economies through Collaboration & Creativity
Thinking Collaboratively • Partnerships are key in achieving outcomes and are appealing to funders • Partnerships and collaborations can include shared grants/funding, shared resources, or referrals to maximize efforts visibility • Our most recent partnerships include • PNAE (Partnership for New American Economy) • WE Global Network (Welcoming Economies) • TAG Consortium (Targeted Assistance Grant) • The Labor Place • WEDI (West Minster Economic Development Initiative)
Employment Services Offered • IIB has been providing employment services for over 25 years • Recent changes in the incoming refugee populations have forced us to change the way we structured our employment services • Earlier engagement with new arrivals regarding employment • Financial literacy training, personalized budgeting and linkage with a bank to open an account • World of Work orientation as a supplement to job club • Expansion of employment programming funding to include more mainstream funders
Job Upgrades Offering job upgrades is a great incentive to get people to take their first job. Some of our upgrade initiatives: • Offering clients the option to return after 6 months for job upgrade • Referral to local workforce training programs • Internal training programs or those through collaboration • Develop training programs with employers (HHA) • Creating on site, fee based contextualized ESL classes with employer partners to ensure retention and promotion of current employees
Building and Connecting Communities
Background • Accelerating immigrant integration and economic advancement through education, training, employment, and entrepreneurship • Served over 14,000 people from over 140 different countries • Part of larger network serving immigrants and refugees in Philadelphia
Identifying Barriers • Education • Language • Establishing a safety net • Access to capital for entrepreneurs • Business training
Build and Connect Communities • Entrepreneurship • Character based lending • Identifying refugee community leaders • Specialized business trainings • Education and Training • English contextualized for employment and continued education
Key Takeaways • Identifying the barriers that block refugees from becoming a part of an inclusive economy • Find partner organizations and government entities to create a holistic approach • Integrating cross cultural competency and education • Collaboration with refugee community leaders is key
Resources
Guide to Immigrant Economic Development
Welcoming Refugees Forum You will have the opportunity to: • Engage in special discussions before and after webinars • Have direct access to Welcoming America staff • Get early peeks at new resources • Share successes and challenges in welcoming with each other http://bit.ly/wrforum
QUESTIONS?
KEEP UP WITH WELCOMING AMERICA Welc lcomin mingA gAmer meric ica. a.or org Like us on Facebook face cebook book.co .com/ m/We Welcoming lcomingAm Ameri rica Follow us on Twitter @Welc lcomi ming ngUS USA Subscribe to our YouTube Channel youtube tube.co .com/ m/Welcom Welcoming ingAm Ameri rica ca Connect with us on LinkedIn linked kedin.com in.com/co /compa pany ny/we /welc lcomi ming ng-am ameri rica ca
Recommend
More recommend
