NewBridges partners with Skyline Literacy
NewBridges partners with Skyline Literacy in several areas:
- We provide space and assistance as well as student intern support and participant referrals for an English class that they hold in our office space
- We collaborate on citizenship assistance - NewBridges does the paperwork and we provide the related immigration information around citizenship, while Skyline does the preparatory classes
- Finally, we serve together on the same networking and advocacy groups, such as the Hispanic Services Council and the Inter-Cultural Alliance
Beyond that, we have very clear and different roles in the community. Skyline assists immigrants and Americans with literacy via one on one tutoring, small groups, etc.
NewBridges Immigrant Resource Center provides direct services only to immigrants. These are provided by staff and many volunteers. These include:
- Immigration paperwork to help bring families together
- Medical bill management to help immigrants maintain access to healthcare and keep creditor off their backs
- Referrals for help that many other agencies provide (including DSS, Social Security Administration, food pantries, domestic violence counseling, bilingual lawyers, and so on)
- Intensive case management and classes to assist immigrants with greater needs or education for living in a new culture - some actual cases include:
- Helping an elderly man access his Social Security retirement checks and get them sent direct deposit to his bank
- Helping a family try to obtain a birth certificate for a child born in the US in a secret holding house along the Mexican border where the mother was trapped by "coyotes" for several months while pregnant for not paying up on the fee they charged her family
- Working with a family who attends one of our "Success by Six Academy" classes to learn about how best to prepare their pre-school child for entering school (topics cover Benefits of Early Childhood Education, Parenting, Good Health -- prevention, hunger resource programs, etc - Financial Literacy, Home Safety, Child Care, and School Enrollment and Parent Involvement)
In addition to direct services, NewBridges also networks with other agencies to advocate for the needs and concerns of immigrants in our society, we participate in public debates and forums, and we provide information and expertise to public officials when requested.
Finally, NewBridges tries to "bridge the cultural gap" by teaching Americans about our local immigrants and their cultures, and by bringing together immigrants and non-immigrants in comfortable settings to share and talk. These "Immigrant Learning Tours" and "Cultural Diversity Workshops" have taken many forms in recent years:
- Training for RMH hospital staff in a workshop entitled "Cultural Competency for Healthcare Professionals"
- Providing an annual day-long workshop for JMU staff through the Office of Training and Development
- Facilitating immigrant panels who share their stories with, and answer questions from, university students and staff, small rural churches, the Chamber of Commerce Leadership Training Program, and other groups
- Taking adult degree students on visits to local Latino businesses and work places
Should anyone be interested in learning more about NewBridges, we'd be glad to meet with you directly. You can also request our 7-minute promotional DVD.
Please call Sam Nickels for more information: 540-476-4180.
www.the-community-foundation.org