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About Our Mission

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HANDS ... SETTLEMENT, CULTURAL

 

Our first responsibility is to provide a safe place for families to gather and share their stories, concerns, questions. We offer a place to learn and socialize. It is a time to serve the essential needs of our new families. It begins with a smile and a hug.

 

Then, some basic information like:

  • What is an apartment lease?

  • Where can I go to buy food?

  • Where can I eat my food?

  • What clothes should I wear?

  • How do I enroll my children in school?

  • How will they be treated in school?

  • Is there public transportation? 

  • Am I safe at night in my new apartment home? 

  • Can I trust the police?

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Most importantly, we recognize the suffering and trauma experienced by every refugee while acknowledging that the term "refugee" defines a condition and not the person.

HEARTS ... ADAPTATION, SOCIAL

Hands Across the World's second responsibility is to help families move from settlement to integration.

 

During this period, we assist each person in reconciling their culture of origin with the culture of their new homeland.

  • Where are the critical conflicts?

  • How do I practice my faith among conflicting faiths?

  • Why should I become a citizen?

  • Will how I dress set me apart from others?

  • What is my responsibility as a parent and as a student?

  • What are the social customs and mores?

  • What traditions might I have to give up?

  • What traditions might I need to accept?

  • What skills do I bring with me that will be a benefit to my new country?

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MINDS ... ADJUSTMENT, ECONOMIC

Our third responsibility is to help bring all that has been learned together in a systemic way to define and clarify short-term job opportunities and long-term career paths.

  • What do I need to learn?

  • How does business work in my new country?

  • What are my civil and human rights in relation to my place of work?

  • What are the rights of the business?

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TOWARDS ... INTEGRATION, POLITICAL

Our final responsibility is to assist with seamless integration into American culture while ensuring acceptance of the New American family's culture of origin. The understanding of the American Constitution and the rule of law as necessary to take full advantage of living in the USA.

  • Why it is important to vote?

  • The role citizens play in influencing policy change.

  • Understanding the party system.

  • What "Freedom" means.

  • What "Rights & Responsibilities" mean to citizens.

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