2018-448-E Finance - Refugee Support Center outside agency agreement

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DocuSign Envelope ID: 80124B29- E4DA- 4BOD- A879- D287FCF3F3CA EXHIBIT A: PROVIDER'S OUTSIDE AGENCY APPLICATION County know where to go when assistance is needed. The assistance provided corresponds to the goals of Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Orange County. The 2007 Orange County Health Department Assessment: Community Diagnosis in 2007 identified several themes expressed by refugees that hindered their integration into the community: lack of knowledge of community resources and how to access them, inconvenient locations and times for Adult Education classes, and language barriers. Orange County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) has an overall goal to ensure economic self - sufficiency and another goal to ensure a community network of basic human services and infrastructure that maintains, protects, and promotes the well- being of all county residents. Chapel Hill Town Council has the goal of creating a place for everyone and to support community prosperity, as well as a sub -goal to support affordable housing. Goals of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen include to enhance and sustain the quality of life /place issues for everyone and to maintain ethnic and economic diversity. RSC is part of the network of services and infrastructure that helps meet the needs of refugees in our community. Our location in an apartment complex where refugees live and which others can access easily addresses the issues of: availability of resources (donations, assistance in navigating the culture and key agency providers), education (ESL and citizenship classes on site), language barriers (Arabic, Burmese, Chin, Karen, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili interpreters available daily) and trust. In addition, these community goals are supported as RSC assists refugees to: a) complete applications for benefits, jobs, rentals, school registrations; b) manage and take control of their personal finances; c) understand the legal system by engaging with RSC pro bono attorneys when legal issues arise; d) provide after school tutoring for school age refugees; and e) secure green cards and ultimately citizenship. Support and step by step instruction helps build refugees' self confidence and their ability to stand on their own, be less dependent on government resources, and become contributing and productive members of our community. f) Who is your target population of individuals to benefit from this program and how will they be identified and connected with the program? In 2017 we served 670 refugees, all of whom struggle financially, culturally and emotionally. The largest number of refugee clients are from Burma and include Burman, Chin, Karen, Karenni, Mon, and Rohingya ethnic groups. Our target population also includes in- county refugees from Syria and Congo /Rwanda. Some refugees are referred to us by resettlement agencies or by social service and health care providers. However, the vast majority comes to us by "word of mouth ". This suggests that the refugee communities trust RSC, that they bring their friends and neighbors to us to be helped just they were helped. PROGRAM INFORMATION 1/18/2018 1:56:21 PM Page 19 of 26