News from Elizabeth, NJ

Hosted by Alison Millan, the IRC in Elizabeth's Resettlement Director, community partners gather quarterly to update each other on available resources, shared knowledge, and current issues facing refugees in New Jersey.

Sheila Moreira, the IRC in Elizabeth's Immigration Supervisor, visited New Jersey congressional delegates on an advocacy trip on behalf of immigrant rights, laws, and policies.

A Kean University student, Stephanie interned with the IRC in Elizabeth in the Economic Empowerment department. During her time with the IRC she worked with Yina, a Honduran refugee with a passion for education.

Gul, a student at Rutgers University and IRC intern, worked with the Economic Empowerment team to help clients achieve their employment and career goals. During his experience, Gul connected with Iris, a client from El Salvador.

The United Tastes of America and the IRC in Elizabeth partnered to offer participants an opportunity to share their home cuisine with one another while learning about safe food handling as a job readiness training event.

The IRC in Elizabeth's Immigration Supervisor, Sheila Moreira, visited both sides of the border to see the asylum seeking process personally as she works with asylum seekers in New Jersey.

Elizabeth's Refugee Youth Summer Academy is a core program in the IRC's youth program. RYSA runs for three weeks in the summer to prepare refugee children and youth for school in New Jersey.

At all grade levels (kindergarten, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-12) Activity Facilitators will develop, implement, and supervise activities such as art, music, dance, theater, etc. The specialty area will be determined based upon the candidate’ area of expertise. Each Activity Facilitator is expected to implement a culturally and age appropriate activity for a class of approximately 15 students for approximately 30-50 minutes, infusing principles from the IRC Safe Healing and Learning Spaces model. Given the varied English levels and formal education experiences of the student body, the Activity Facilitator must be flexible and comfortable with using various methods for engaging with English Language Learners (ELLs). Throughout their specialized activity, facilitators will be expected to contribute to the program’s goals of fostering students’ English competence and social-emotional development. Candidates will be working with a variety of class levels. All applicants must be experienced in their specialty area.

At all grade levels (kindergarten, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-12) RYSA volunteers will assist with guiding a self-contained classroom, supporting English literacy and ESL instruction through various subject matter (i.e. US History, Health, etc.), and facilitate other specialized activities such as art or music. Each RYSA volunteer is expected to support the ESL Lead Teacher and psychology doctoral student as they implement a culturally and age-appropriate curriculum for a class of approximately 15 students. Given the varied English levels and formal educational experiences of the student body, the RYSA volunteer must be flexible and comfortable with using various methods for teaching English Language Learners. Throughout their classroom activities, RYSA volunteers will be expected to contribute to the program’s goals of fostering students’ English competence and social-emotional development. All applicants must be older than 17 years old.

The IRC in Elizabeth welcomes interns in every semester who work directly with clients and ensure the office runs smoothly day in and day out. Sera is a Master of Social Work candidate at Rutgers University in New Jersey who is interning at the IRC's office in Elizabeth. She offers a window into the intern experience with the IRC!