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Services to Immigrants & Non-English Speakers

Services to Immigrants & Non-English Speakers, Services to Older Adults
Ready America
August 17th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

Ready America, part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is an “advertising campaign designed to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies … The goal of the campaign is to get the public involved and ultimately to increase the level of basic preparedness across the nation.”

It has a kids section at and a Spanish site.

Because September is National Preparedness Month, you might hear more about Ready in the media. The overall goal is to have individuals do three key things: get an emergency supply kit, make a family emergency plan, and be informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses.

You can download ready.gov publications, and current content includes sections on preparedness for older Americans, military families, pet owners, and people with disabilities and special needs. Toll-free telephone numbers are 1-800-BE-READY and 1-888-SE-LISTO.

Connecticut has its own department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

Many towns and libraries have registered themselves (here) with Ready America, which gives access to a 51-page how-to manual on promoting disaster preparedness, posters, logos, a PowerPoint presentation, and web banners.
Continuing Education, Services to Immigrants & Non-English Speakers
2 free webinars: Bilingual storytimes & Living Libraries
June 30th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

Webinar: Bilingual Storytimes to Build Early Literacy
Join your colleagues on July 29 for a free one-hour webinar titled Bilingual Storytimes: Building Early Literacy and Community. Libraries are expanding storytime programming to build early literacy skills in their community. The Mission Branch of the San Francisco Public Library recently added to their popular Bilingual Toddler Tales Program (300–400 attendees!) hands-on literacy activity stations for caregivers to explore. Seattle Public Library has expanded their Summer Reading Program to include bilingual storytimes in Chinese, Vietnamese and Spanish. Both libraries have had great success in their early literacy programming and continue to build deep connections with caregivers in their communities.

Join Laura Tarango, children’s librarian at the Mission Branch, and Valerie Wonder, immigrant and refugee programs manager at Seattle Public Library, as they describe how they assessed the community’s needs, developed and adapted the programs.

They’ll also provide practical steps for you to apply to your outreach and programming efforts.

Webinar: Living Libraries, Understanding Diversity
Also mark your calendars for July 22 for another free one-hour webinar, Living Library Project: Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover. The Living Library is a unique event that brings together people who have special interests, beliefs or experiences to share their personal story with members of the community. In this innovative program participants can “check out” Living Books for a personal conversation. Both the Bainbridge Island and Santa Monica Public Libraries executed two successful Living Library events. The Bainbridge Island event covered such diverse experiences as life as a quadriplegic, a female police officer, a young gay man and an atheist. Santa Monica Public Library’s Living Books included a fat activist, a formerly homeless person, an ex-gangmember and a nudist. Join us for a free webinar with leads from these projects: Rebecca Judd from the Bainbridge Island (WA) branch of the Kitsap Regional Library System in Washington, and Julie MacDonald and Rachel Foyt from the Santa Monica Public Library in Santa Monica (CA). Hear how they planned and implemented the project in their libraries, and find out how you can create a Living Library in your community. For more information on the project see this BlogJunction post from last fall and register now for the webinar.
CT Library Community, Grants and Reimbursements, Services to Immigrants & Non-English Speakers
Wintonbury Branch, Bloomfield, Focuses on Adult Literacy
June 26th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

The Wintonbury Branch of Bloomfield’s Prosser Library is wrapping up the grant year of a wildly successful Community Needs Assessment grant.

Coordinator Laura Vasselle is poised to succeed with the resulting project, which focuses on bolstering the literacy levels of adults in the community.

To learn about what Laura and her colleagues are doing right, read all about it here.
Children and Youth Services, Grants and Reimbursements, Services to Immigrants & Non-English Speakers
Saucony Run for Good
January 26th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

The Saucony Run for Good Program was created to financially support community based organizations in encouraging active and healthy lifestyles for children

August 2009 Grants:Application due: 6/13/09; Grant awarded: 8/13/09.

There are two grant cycles per year, with up to seven awards granted each cycle. See http://www.sauconyrunforgood.com for complete information.
Children and Youth Services, Services to Immigrants & Non-English Speakers
FirstBook
January 6th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?
First Book, founded in 1992, is a nonprofit that provides books to children from low-income families. The first step for a school, library, or other agency working with low-income children is to become familiar with the guidelines and register. Registered entities may ne eligible to receive books through First Book’s National Book Bank and First Book Marketplace.

In Connecticut, three First Book Advisory Boards coordinate local activities: Eastern CT, Fairfield County, and Greater Hartford. The Advisory Boards provide book grants to local literacy programs and raise awareness of literacy issues within communities, college campuses and universities. Beneficiaries have included:
- New London Office of Youth Affairs
- Madonna Place, Norwich
- St. James Head Start, New London
- Spice It Up with Nutmeg Reading Group sponsored by the Willimantic Public Library
- The Front Porch Foundation
- Child Works Preschool, New London
- B. P. Learned Mission & the Early Childhood Development Center sponsored by The Child & Family Agency
- Early Care in Education sponsored by the Thames Valley Council for Community Action
Grants and Reimbursements, Services to Immigrants & Non-English Speakers
New Routes funds immigrant-led projects
October 29th, 2008 | Permalink | Comment?

New Routes to Community Health announced that it will award eight immigrant-led community organizations with three-year, $225,000 grants to help create local campaigns to raise health awareness among immigrants.

The eight projects will produce original content in English and other languages, and materials will be posted on the New Routes site (the site also serves as a resource for multimedia, research and news on immigrant community health issues).

New Routes is a program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Benton Foundation.
Services to Immigrants & Non-English Speakers
Nebraska: Immigrants’ impact on state economy report
October 29th, 2008 | Permalink | Comment?
New Routes to Community Health pointed out a recent report from the University of Nebraska at Omaha quantifies the multi-billion dollar effects that immigrants have on that state’s economy. There is much to be learned in the report about the economic impact of immigrants in Connecticut.

In 2006, immigrant spending resulted in $1.6 billion of output to Nebraska’s economy; the spending created roughly 12,000 jobs for the state. The study found that if the immigrant portion of the labor force were unavailalbe, total state production would fall by $13.5 billion. The study also proves that immigrant groups ‘pay in’ about 7% more than what they use in terms of governmental support.

Connecticut now has the 11th highest percentage of foreign-born residents in the country (from http://research.yale.edu/datainitiative/reports/CT_immigration_07.pdf) .

And the Immigrants in Connecticut: Labor Market Experiences and Health Care Access report on ct.webjunction points out a few related, notable facts;
- The foreign-born share of CT’s population (12%) is about the national average, but CT’s immigrants have more diverse origin;
- Half of CT’s immigrants are naturalized citizens, compared with a third nationally;
- CT’s immigrants are most heavily concentrated in low-skilled industries, but their numbers are growing rapidly in high-skilled industries;
- CT’s immigrants are concentrated in large cities and the suburban areas adjacent to NYC.
Grants and Reimbursements, Library Development, Services to Immigrants & Non-English Speakers
New ICMA/Gates Foundation Grant: Compelling Uses of Libraries
October 29th, 2008 | Permalink | Comment?

The International City County Managers Association (ICMA) will be providing grants to communities using their public libraries for compelling projects, like providing services for teens or immigrants, supporting recycling, and public safety.

Over the next two years, aided with financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ICMA intends to multiply those novel practices and demonstrate the value of public libraries in supporting sustainable communities.

In November 2008, local governments will be able to apply for an ICMA Public Library Innovation Grant; these will be 18 months in length and will focus on using the public library to address community priorities and issues.

A total of $500,000 will be available to cities, towns, and counties with individual grants will likely range from $25,000 to $75,000.

There’s more information at the ICMA website about the Local Government and Public Library Partnership Initiative. Stay tuned.
Grants and Reimbursements, Services to Immigrants & Non-English Speakers
Wilson/Fish refugee assistance grants, Bhutanese refugees
October 10th, 2008 | Permalink | Comment?

The Wilson/Fish Alternative Program from the federal Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement funds projects that help provide interim financial assistance, social services and case management to refugees in a manner that encourages self-sufficiency, reduces the likelihood of welfare dependency and fosters greater coordination among resettlement agencies and service providers in a community. ORR is interested in projects that optimize all available resources–from Federal and State governments and the community–to make the resettlement period as beneficial as possible. An integrated system of assistance and services is an essential characteristic of a Wilson/Fish project.

Projects funded with these The due date for applications is April 30, 2009.

ORR anticipates that overall funding in this program will be $23,000,000.

They expect to give away between 12 to 15 awards each 60 months long with five 12-month budget periods; each has a $6M cap. CONTACT: Carl Rubenstein: crubenstein@acf.hhs.gov.

On a related note, thousands of Bhutanese refugees are currently being resettled in the U.S.

To learn more about this new refugee population, see Bridging Refugee Youth & Children’s Services (BRYCS) fact sheet.

“Unable to return home or to integrate permanently into Nepal, thousands of Bhutanese refugees are being referred for resettlement to countries such as the United, States, Canada and Australia. The United States has agreed to resettle up to 60,000 refugees, with the first arrivals due in the spring of 2008 and continuing over a number of years.”
Services to Immigrants & Non-English Speakers
Conference: Disparity in Connecticut: Where are We Now and Where are We Heading?
October 9th, 2008 | Permalink | Comment?
The Connecticut Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparity in the Criminal Justice System presents:

Disparity in Connecticut: Where are We Now and Where are We Heading?

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Welte Auditorium, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT

Purpose of the Conference:
- Inform decision-makers about current initiatives in the criminal & juvenile justice area.
- Inform decision-makers about the importance of preventing youth from entering the juvenile and criminal justice systems.
- Promote dialogue among those who work in our criminal justice system and those whose lives they impact.
- Identify solutions.
- Help shape the Commission’s agenda over the next year.
Who Should Attend:

Criminal Justice Professionals, Public Policy Makers, Educators, Advocates, Community Organization members and anyone with an interest in discussing this topic.

Keynote Speaker: Professor Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. Harvard Law School Jesse Climenko Professor of Law

Executive Director, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice. Ogletree is a prominent legal theorist who has made an international reputation by taking a hard look at complex issues of law and by working to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution for everyone equally under the law. He has examined these issues not only in the classroom, on the Internet and in the pages of prestigious law journals, but also in the everyday world of the public defender and in public television forums. Armed with an arsenal of facts, Ogletree presents and discusses the challenges that face our justice system and its attempt to deliver equal treatment to all our citizens. He is the author of: From Lynch Mobs to the Killing State: Race and the Death Penalty in America (NYU Press, 2006) and All Deliberate Speed: Reflections on the First Half-Century of Brown v. Board of Education (Norton, 2005), as well as numerous other works.

More information is available.