EMBARC's RefugeeRISE AmeriCorps Program

Refugees receive little support as they transition to their new lives as Iowans.  Most must figure out what to do on their own. However, mainstream service organizations, faith communities, community-based organizations and—most notably—refugee ethnic groups have recently come together to organize, identify volunteers, and begin to provide help to community members. Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center (EMBARC) is one organization that has taken the lead.  In 2015 EMBARC created the RefugeeRISE program.  ​
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RefugeeRISE is an AmeriCorps program focused on increasing economic self-sufficiency, job readiness, and increasing community engagement of individuals who came to the U.S. as refugees. Refugee communities have the highest needs and most difficulty understanding and accessing resources because of linguistic, cultural, and other barriers. The program supports 60 members who serve with host site organizations across Iowa that currently address refugees' immediate and long-term needs. AmeriCorps members are paired in teams with at least one member of each team speaking the target population language.

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The RefugeeRISE AmeriCorps Program helps:

• Remove barriers to accessing basic services for employment and healthcare.
• Break the poverty cycle by focusing on providing supports that lead to economic self-sufficiency.
• Provide culturally and linguistically appropriate support.
• Enable refugees to become contributing and engaged members of society.
• Provide basic education to help refugees learn how to navigate modern life.
• Provide leadership opportunities to refugees and other individuals by providing opportunities for service and volunteering.

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RefugeeRISE AmeriCorps Partner Sites
(past & present)

Catholic Charities- Cedar Rapids
Catherine McAuley Center- Cedar Rapids
​​City of Columbus Junction- Columbus Junction
Des Moines Area Community College- Des Moines
EMBARC - Des Moines
EMBARC- Marshalltown
EMBARC- Waterloo
​Greater Des Moines Partnership- Des Moines
IC Compassion- Iowa City
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Iowa Coalition on Domestic Violence - Des Moines
​Justice For Our Neighbors- Des Moines
​Lutheran Services in Iowa- Columbus Junction
Lutheran Services in Iowa - Des Moines
​Mid-Iowa Community Action- Marshalltown
Oakridge Neighborhood Services- Des Moines
Path of Hope - Coralville
​Pi 515- Des Moines
The Bridge of Storm Lake - Storm Lake

Iowa's Refugee Story

Over the past 10 years, the United States government has resettled more than 18, 000 refugees directly to Iowa.  These newcomers are finally safe from violent racial, religious, and political persecution that caused their original displacement. In addition, they no longer languish in dangerous and hopeless refugee camps in which they were imprisoned for years, and sometimes even decades, after fleeing for their lives into neighboring nations.  These grateful new Iowans now face a different set of challenges for which they are ill-equipped to navigate. Tasks like finding a job, learning English, accessing existing resources, and obtaining necessities like warm clothes, medicine and food are tremendous hurdles that refugees must face.  They must do this without modern life skills and while trying to make sense of a bewildering new culture and environment. ​