Building Workforce Connections
Adult students who qualify for refugee status often arrive in the United States having endured trauma and adjusting to a new culture and unfamiliar environment. It’s particularly important that we support inclusive, safe, and welcoming literacy programs for this group of students. A two-year grant from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and the Bureau of Refugee Programs (BRP) has allowed us to:
• Hire a highly experienced Program Manager to oversee the grant.
• Support English Language Learning programs at 18 Wisconsin Literacy member agencies.
• Provide resources, capacity-building support and trainings that resulted in our members serving 1,075 ORR-eligible students and their families.
• Help agencies provide transportation, offsite classes and childcare to remove barriers to education.
• Host the inaugural Refugee and Immigrant Support Summit, in partnership with the Wisconsin Technical College System. The Summit brought together immigrants and refugees, service providers, educators, as well as community and business leaders for action-oriented networking and resource sharing.
1,999 refugees were resettled in Wisconsin in fiscal year 2024. Wisconsin Literacy member programs reached over 1,000 refugee students. Through the support of ORR and BRP, we have helped to meet the educational and professional goals of refugee students statewide. Our member agencies have helped refugee students learn English and connected them to important resources in their community. The staff and volunteers also provide classes for refugees who are eligible to become U.S. citizens, equipping them with the knowledge and language skills needed to pass the citizenship test. [By attending classes and working with a tutor at a Wisconsin Literacy member agency, a refugee student from Syria met his goal of moving up one English as a Second Language (ESL) level. With this knowledge, he opened his own tailoring business in Madison earlier this year.]
