Program areas at CRB
Leadership, Education, and Access Program (LEAP): LEAP supports diverse, multi-ethnic communities living in Kent, WA. LEAP is a home-based Early Learning program that enhances parenting knowledge, healthy child development, school readiness, parent-child attachment, cultural knowledge sharing for home visitors, building parent networks through gatherings and events, and providing opportunities for children to play and learn together.
Experiential Learning Academy (ELA): The ELA is an out-of-school time enrichment program that aims to close the opportunity gap for newcomer refugee youth by building their soft skills and leadership skills. ELA combines peer-to-peer mentoring and targeted academic enrichment opportunities in a supportive out-of-school time and space for newly arrived refugee and immigrant youth.
Learn, Integrate, Network, Collaborate (LINC): LINC provides wrap-around, holistic support to Early Learning families by providing linkage and referral to community services and other opportunities when and how families need it. LINC services are delivered with a focus on relationships, building trust, effective communication, and client comfort, control, and satisfaction.
Reading Programs: CB's reading programs target elementary school aged youth from the Kent School District so that they are reading at standard levels.
Summit: The Summit Program is funded by the WA State Department of Commerce, to teach newcomers, 18 years and older, to use simple computer and application tools to support successful resettlement into their new homes. In our preliminary research, we discovered the pandemic widened information inequity and put newly arrived young adults and parents at a disadvantage since many have language barriers and don't have the skills to navigate or access information, which can place a barrier in accessing resources like food assistance, COVID guidelines, and employment opportunities. The Summit program closes the digital divide facing recently arrived refugee and immigrant communities and encourages participants to become economically self-sufficient and socially integrated into the community as soon as possible.
SPARK: A systems navigation program for families living in the City of Seattle. This program is funded by the City of Seattle.
Kent Education and Equity Partnership (KEEP): Members include a Coalition for Refugees from Bruma (CRB), Somali Youth and Family Club (SYFC), Centro Rendu of St. Vincent De Paul, Iraqi Community Center of Washington (ICCW), and Community Network Council (CNC). Implemented the Parent Access Counts in Transforming Schools (PACTS) project to increase the capacity of Kent School District (KSD) community leaders and parents and to create opportunities for parents to become more engaged with KSD schools, teachers, and administrators.
Promoting refugee integration, mobility, & empowerment (PRIME): The PRIME program offers individualized case management for refugees with significant cultural barriers or those who are struggling with academic performance.
Youth Voices Program: The Youth Voices program is designed to build and strengthen community capacity and youth leadership through a series of trainings, community focus groups/discussions, and a culminating youth-led panel event. The youths participate in the refugee and immigrant youth advisory council (RIYCA) to connect community members with government and stakeholders such as school districts, city, county, and state representatives for policy and system change to promote thriving communities.
The Kent Community Development Collaborative (KCDC) is a partnership to leverage the strengths of each Community Based Organization (CBO) partner and the assets of the residents of Kent and apply strategically to the issue at hand. Each partner has existing community relationships and provides services in Kent that align with the King County initiatives of community connection, health, housing, and economic opportunity. Each partner has engaged community residents in conversations about health, housing, and economic opportunity and those conversations have influenced services, policies, and opportunities for improved community conditions.
PACT: The Parent And Children Together (PACT) program centers on culturally appropriate Universal Developmental Screening conversations led by parent leaders of children 0-5 years of age from newcomer refugee/immigrant communities. Parent leaders plan and execute customized learning opportunities on culturally situated topics related to child development, leveraging their strong interpersonal relationships and community connections. Community input is gathered in culturally appropriate ways, which inform the design of the learning opportunities. Events and conversations are hosted by parent leaders, delivered in the native language of participants, and holding important cultural learning styles and customs for gathering at the center.