Resettlement
Refugees are defined
by international law as those who flee their native country
because of a well-founded fear of persecution. There are no
humanitarian needs greater than those of the children and
their surviving parents who have lost everything - home,
country, jobs, relatives, friends - and fled for their lives.
The enormous social and psychological adjustments required of
the fortunate few newcomers as they assimilate into American
society are particularly difficult for refugees as a result of
their extreme physical, social, economic and political losses.
Having lost their homes abroad, and entering the United States
usually with little or no financial resources, from a country
where they may have been victims of political trauma,
religious persecution, or ethnic cleansing, newly arrived
refugees need special assistance with starting their new lives
in the U.S. IIB helps those families who are most in need by
addressing the worst humanitarian crises of our times in the
most personal of ways - rebuilding lives one family at a
time.
Resettlement
Services
At IIB, refugees receive a full range of services, all designed to help them live full, productive lives in their adopted home. Services include housing assistance and help making arrangements for telephone and utility services. Once the family has settled into their new home, Resettlement Caseworkers help to enroll children in school and after-school programs, assist parents with accessing childcare, and ensure that everyone is receiving adequate medical care (caseworkers enroll participants in public health care benefits programs, arrange immunizations and make referrals for specialized care). All of IIB’s programs work in concert to foster the individual self-sufficiency of our clients. Refugees have access to IIB’s social services department for counseling and support, resolution of transportation issues, family mediation and mental health counseling, IIB’s legal department for assistance sponsoring their relatives or applying for a green card, IIB’s education department for ESOL and Literacy classes and IIB’s employment and training program that ensures appropriate and supported placement in the workforce. Refugees and asylees who receive services benefit from close coordination of IIB’s Refugee Resettlement, Social Services and Legal Services departments.
Meet Sharifi
The three-day journey from Pakistan
ended for the Sharifi family on
May 24, 2000. Flight 1966 was
supposed to arrive in Boston at
3:10 p.m. and did not arrive until......
| 
