About:

 

The New Arrivals Institute's (NAI) largest program, the Refugee New Arrival School, opened in 1998 as a program founded by Lutheran Family Services (LFS), the first refugee settlement provider in North Carolina and one of the first in the United States. Prior to the opening of the school, classes were offered to refugees; however, LFS staff noticed many mothers were unable to attend classes because they could not bring their children with them. The opening of the Refugee New Arrival School removed this barrier by providing childcare for the refugee parents when they are attending classes.  

  

In 2010, LFS decided to close their resettlement office, including the school, in Greensboro. Many of the preschoolers and adult students were upset with this decision and sought ways to keep the educational services provided. Together, clients made a petition and began a letter campaign for both LFS and the state’s refugee office to keep the school open, including the preschool, and the vocational training and skills programs.

 

That same year, the LFS's Greensboro refugee education department decided it would be best to make their program a standalone nonprofit to ensure the continuation of services. After getting assurances for seed money by community groups and congregations and with the support of the NC State Refugee Office, New Arrivals Institute (NAI) was founded. NAI's mission is: Assisting refugees and immigrants with self-sufficiency and US Citizenship through education. Through the process of starting a new agency a conscious decision was made to open up its programs to immigrants as well as refugees.

 

The history of the New Arrivals Institute is a crucial achievement in how they work today.

 

“Everything that we do we try to have an educational piece that goes along with it,” said NAI’s executive director, Leilani Roughton about the continuous component in every service the nonprofit provides. "We are not here to simply do everything for a client. We are here to give our clients the tools they need to achieve their goals."

 

There are 12 services provided to refugees and immigrants that help them succeed in the United States. They include:

 

1. English Language Training (ELT) are classes and tutoring available for adults learning English.

2. Employment Readiness are classes that help adults find and keep jobs.

3. Health Education is a program which teaches their clients about pertinent health information and how to make healthy decisions.

4. Educational Counseling provides clients with the information they need and helps them map out a plan to achieve their educational and vocational goals.

5. Community Orientation educates clients about life in the United States and helps them transition into their new community.

6. Skills Recertification provides translations and evaluations of overseas diplomas and works with clients to help them rebuild their careers in the USA.

7. Vocational Skills Training help clients learn skills for the career field they want to enter.

8. Refugee School Impact offers various programming for both school-age children and their parents, such as Afterschool Tutorial, In-school Services and Parental Services.

9. Case Management provides supportive services through information, assistance and resources to meet client needs.

10. Citizen Preparedness offers classes that teach clients about Civics and English so they can pass their USCIS Citizenship test.

11. Early Childhood Classes help children become prepared for the transition of entering the United State public school system.

12. Community Liaison brings parties together to increase open communication and effective interaction between clients and key stakeholder groups within the community. This includes educating the community about refugee and immigrant groups, community outreach, cultural competency training and the development of community partnerships

 

“My philosophy and the philosophy of NAI, is that while we are a standalone agency, we don’t do anything, for the most part, on our own,” Roughton said. “We build community partnerships in order to best serve the refugees and immigrants in the community. By working together with our community partners we are able to provide the highest level of service and ensure that our clients needs are met.”

 

NAI has numerous partnerships across Greensboro and other parts of the Triad. Having the partnerships allows the nonprofit to offer a wide breadth of services at their sites.

 

While refugee services are typically funded for clients who have been in the country less than 5 years, NAI finds ways to serve refugees and immigrants beyond that 5 year limit.

 

“The reason it’s important that we’re here is because the clients asked for us to be here,” Roughton said. “If the clients hadn’t organized themselves and petitioned -- we wouldn’t be here.” This is very important to the executive director, who adds, “That weighs heavily on my mind and everything that we do, every program we provide is in response to our client's needs.”

 

NAI is in constant need of volunteers and offer internships. To find out about these opportunities, go to their website.