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“Just being at the right place at the right time and doing one little thing is important,” Dr. Alonso Collar, IV.
Reaching Out To God's Children
Refugee Resettlement
Refugee Resettlement: A refugee is a person who fled their country because of a well founded fear of persecution based upon their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.
STVCC’s federally funded and mandated mid-Michigan program offers intensive services to refugees, asylees and human trafficking victims to help them move toward self sufficiency. STVCC locates housing, provides basic household items, initial food and picks up refugees at the airport to welcome them to their new home. STVCC offers many other services to help refugees work toward self sufficiency, including translation, access to health screenings and medical followw-up, cultural orientation, assistance in applying for necessary documents and programs funded through the US Department of State, employment services, and more.
Judi Harris
Program Director for Refugee Services / (517) 323.4734 ext. 1402 e-mail
For employment specific information:
Judi Harris
Program Director for Refugee Services / (517) 323.4734 ext. 1402 e-mail
For housing specific information:
Dr. Thomas Woods
Housing Specialist Case Manager for Refugee Services / (517) 323.4734 ext. 1423 e-mail
If you are not a customer of STVCC, it is not regular business hours and you are in need of help call 211
- Read about the types of services provided by STVCC Refugee Services.
- Learn how Refugees access services.
- Find out about our hours and location.
- Find out about volunteer opportunities.
- Read about the history.
- Check out our service statistics.
Types of Services Provided
- STVCC helps refugees who are in danger and unwelcome in their own countries. The expert staff work closely with our customers to help them gain the skills and obtain the tools to become self sufficient.
- Rental assistance is provided through partnering with local landlords to obtain affordable housing for Refugees arriving to the Lansing Area.
- STVCC provides casework support in a number of areas to help refugees find safety so they can thrive in their new home in Lansing, Michigan. An STVCC caseworker, along with volunteers and community collaborators, helps new arrivals overcome barriers to self sufficiency through personal assistance and connecting them with needed community educational, management and social networking resources.
- Obtaining and maintaining permanent housing.
- Goal development and self-sufficiency planning.
- Financial and household management.
- Vocational English As Second Language
- Healthcare.
- Employment.
- Enrollment in school.
- Acquiring mainstream resources and referrals to community resources.
Accessing Refugee Services
- The U.S. Government, in collaboration with international authorities such as the United Nations, designates those who will be resettled to the U.S. An extensive application process and background check are completed with those who are approved for resettlement in the U.S.
- Refugees do not have a choice in what country they will be resettled. It is the decision of the resettling country’s government to offer assistance.
- Services are for refugees, asylees and human trafficking victims as recognized by the United States Government.
- A refugee is a person who fled their country because of a well founded fear of persecution based upon their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.
- A human trafficking victim is a person who is a modern day slave. They are illegally being held against their will. If a person flees or is freed from their capture, while living in the U.S., they may not be able to return to their home country because of a well founded fear of persecution.
- For more information, please call (517) 323.4734.
STVCC Refugee Services Hours and Location
- Office Hours are Monday – Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., by appointment.
- Appointments are made in advance.
- STVCC is located at 2800 W. Willow St. Lansing, MI 48917.
- To see a map and receive directions, CLICK HERE.
Volunteer Opportunities
- Family Mentors: Assist families and individuals with connecting to community resources, assist with cultural training in areas such as grocery shopping, financial management, education, etc.
- Case Management Assistant: Assist case managers with providing services to families and individuals including office assistance and transportation.
- Education Support: Provide workshops or one-on-one assistance to customers in areas such as financial literacy, tutoring, English as a Second language training, and health education.
- Housing Assistant: Assist the Housing Specialist with working with local landlords to acquire housing for incoming refugees, help with housing setups, teaching refugees home management techniques and financial literacy.
- For more information call (517) 323.4734 ext. 1424 or CLICK HERE.
History of STVCC Refugee Services
The STVCC Refugee Services program officially opened in the 1970’s. Since the program’s inception, services have expanded over the years to include employment, education, outreach and health services in addition to resettlement. To date, more than 15,000 refugees have been resettled to the Lansing Area. The ethnic diversity and economic stimulus brought to Lansing by refugees resettled in the area bring a positive impact to Lansing’s culture in business, schools and community organizations.
The STVCC Refugee Services is the only resettlement program for adult individuals and families in the Lansing Area.
Lutheran Social Services of Michigan provides foster care services to unaccompanied refugee minors in Lansing. The two programs work together closely to assure that all needs are met.
Service Statistics
First, here are some worldwide stats on refugees:- Worldwide, an estimated 42 million people were forcibly displaced by the end of 2008.
- The wait for a refugee in a refugee camp ranges from 1 month to 17 years.
- Only 5% of all designated refugees will ever be resettled.
- The U.S. resettles 1% of all designated refugees.
Stats on STVCC Refugee Services Resettlement, from around the world, over the past decade:
To learn more about the country of origin and causes for refugee flight, click on the name of the country of origin and visit the Wikipedia site description. Please keep in mind that the groups of people from the counrty of origin varies based on ethnicity, etc. For instance the counrty of origin may be Russia, but the refugees can be of turkish ethnicity.
To learn further details of refugee flight visit the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
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