Ashlie Gilbert; Katherine Hobbs; Simran Kaur; Dwight Parker; Sierra Trejos; Brad Weaver; Dr. Stephen Alder PhD University of Utah Honors College – Global Health Scholars, Salt Lake City, Utah

Ashlie Gilbert; Katherine Hobbs; Simran Kaur; Dwight Parker; Sierra Trejos; Brad Weaver; Dr. Stephen Alder PhD University of Utah Honors College – Global Health Scholars, Salt Lake City, Utah

RESULTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CONCLUSIONS

Staff, faculty, students, and refugees from the following:

•Refugee Services Office (Utah State Department of Workforce Services)•The Refugee Community (The Greater Salt Lake Valley)•The Honors College (University of Utah)•Global Health Scholars (The Honors College)

BACKGROUND METHODS

Global Health Scholars (GHS):

•Part of the Honors College at the University of Utah

•Consists of 20 undergraduate students who strive to engage in the all aspects of global health

•GHS has formed a partnership with the Refugee Services Office

Refugee Services Office (RSO):

•Created to better support and serve the refugee population resettling in Utah

•A state agency that oversees and coordinates all other resettlement agencies and programs in Utah

Refugee Population in Utah:

RSO reports:

•99% of refugees in Utah reside in the Salt Lake Valley

•The refugee population In Utah to be about 25,000

•Majority of refugees are from Somalia, Sudan, and Iraq

•During resettlement, refugees face significant challenges including

•Housing•Language/cultural barriers•Education/Employment•Transportation

Recognizing challenges inherent in refugee resettlement, the GHS proposed a partnership built on a foundation of community engaged scholarship and community-based participatory research and projects (CBPR) designed to improve the resettlement process. Efforts began nearly one year ago, and after initial rapid progress nearly six months was spent in negotiations and legal drafting between the Department of Workforce Services and the U in an effort to ensure sustainability.

This GHS/RSO/Refugee Partnership Aims To:

•Develop equitable collaboration among community, institutional, and academic partners to combine knowledge and resources to advance refugee resettlement

•To address this significant community challenge in a context of mutual respect and appreciation, allowing each party equal stake, responsibility, and benefit

•Provide guidance and direction used to improve the refugee resettlement process, with the goal that eventually, community refugee leaders will be empowered to assume this role

•Help individual refugee families during the resettlement process

The Partnership in Practice:

•University of Utah contributes volunteers, a scholarly model, and acting liaisons between refugee families and RSO, while GHS gains experience in community engagement and CBPR in fulfilling its scholarly mission

•RSO trains GHS and coordinates connection between families and students, and in return, is able to benefit from long-term volunteer efforts and feedback

•Refugee families have the responsibility of providing feedback and allowing students into their homes, while gaining community advocates and additional resources, which help them to adjust to their new environment

•Under the umbrella of community engaged scholarship, this type of sustainable partnership benefits both the university and resettled refugees, strengthening community ties and improving the resettlement process

•The partnership can also serve as a reproducible model for other communities and universities

Forming A Sustainable Partnership For Improving Refugee Resettlement:

The University of Utah Honors College Global Health Scholars Refugee Partnership