USCRI Cleveland, in partnership with Educational and Cultural Ukrainian American League (ECUAL), successfully concluded a four-week Cultural Exchange Summer Camp for Ukrainian refugee and parolee children. This unique program, officially registered through the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, created a nurturing and enriching environment for children navigating a new life in the United States. […]
Category: Field Offices
Building Community, Sharing Culture: USCRI Offices Celebrate World Refugee Day
World Refugee Day, observed annually on June 20, is a day dedicated to honoring the strength, courage, and resilience of refugees worldwide. It’s a time to raise awareness about the challenges refugees face and to celebrate their contributions to their new communities. USCRI field offices across the country held celebrations in their communities, raising awareness […]
Running for Refugees in Vermont
USCRI had a significant presence Memorial Day Weekend at Vermont’s largest single-day sporting event, the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay. On Sunday, May 25, two USCRI Vermont relay teams, each consisting of five runners from full-time staff and the volunteer network, ran their hearts out to support USCRI’s mission. Scores of other runners […]
USCRI Cleveland: Reprise 2024
In October, USCRI Cleveland held its annual benefit concert, reprise, featuring international musical acts and food from Northeast Ohio’s refugee community. The event attracted over 300 guests and raised over $60,000 for the field office. Artists included Rahim AlHaj, an Iraqi oud musician and composer, and Emmanuel Jal, a South Sudanese rapper, singer, actor, activist, […]
World Mental Heath Day: Spotlight on Occupational Therapy Services at USCRI Cleveland
By: Rosalind Ghafar Rogers, PhD, LMHC, Clinical Behavioral Health Subject Matter Expert with USCRI’s Refugee Health Services in Arlington, VA In recognition of World Mental Health Day and the importance of prioritizing work to promote better mental health for refugees and other forcibly displaced populations, I would like to highlight the important work being done […]
Volunteer Highlight: Steve Follett, USCRI Vermont.
Hello, my name is Steve Follett and I’ve been a volunteer with USCRI Vermont in Rutland since 2022. I was introduced to USCRI through some mutual friends with Jennie Gartner, the Community Engagement Coordinator, after years of local refugee advocacy work. Now I support our local refugee families here in Rutland as a Family Friend […]
Mahbouba Seraj visits USCRI Cleveland
Earlier this month, USCRI Cleveland had the honor of hosting an event with Ms. Mahbouba Seraj, a leader in advocating for women’s rights and a Nobel Peace Prize Nominee. Ms. Seraj stayed behind after the evacuation of Afghanistan for a year to witness and document the Taliban’s dismantling of women’s rights. Nadeen Abusada, reporter with […]
Refugee Employment – Five Years at University Hospitals
University Hospitals has hired hundreds of USCRI Cleveland’s refugee clients over the years, training them on how to work in the kitchen and on American work culture. While many will move on from the job after a few years to proceed in a career in health care or to go back to school, some call […]
International Day of Education: From Refugees to Cultural Navigators
Education is a critical human right that displaced people are far too often denied. Education provides students not just with knowledge, but also with interpersonal skills, confidence, and stability, all of which put them on a path to create a bright future for themselves and their communities. Yet, more than half of all displaced children […]
STARS Program Offers Lifeline for Foreign National Trafficking Survivors in Detroit Area
USCRI is proud to announce the formation of the Surviving Trauma and Reaching Success (STARS) program to support foreign national survivors of sex and labor trafficking in the Detroit, Michigan region. STARS will conduct outreach, provide case management assistance, and offer free immigration legal services. Human trafficking operates in secrecy as refugees and immigrants are […]