BACKGROUND: Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a leading non-sectarian, voluntary organization providing relief, protection, and resettlement services for refugees and victims of oppression or violent conflict. The Suburban Washington Refugee Center, where the IRC’s Silver Spring resettlement office is located, has resettled more than 3,000 new refugee arrivals, providing them a fresh start and opportunities to use their greatest resources—their motivation, their skills and their experiences—to become independent and self-sufficient new Americans. Currently, the IRC Silver Spring resettles and/or provides assistance to over 500 refugees and asylees each year.
SCOPE OF WORK: The Family Mentor Program focuses on helping newly arrived refugees feel more at home by connecting them to mentors from the local community. Mentors help refugees practice English, socialize with others, and integrate into the community through weekly visits. The Family Mentor team provides support for mentors during their six month commitment and monitors the refugee family’s improvement throughout the program.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Assist in the coordination of matching clients to mentors through in-take process
- Conduct intake and create profiles for refugee families
- Update a calendar of events for free or affordable activities for mentors and mentees
- Administer surveys to track family’s progress during the mentorship
- Create training materials for mentors
- Shadow first visits between mentors and mentees, as well as participate in appreciation events
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Intern will gain US field-office experience interacting with and assisting refugee clients
- Intern will acquire detailed knowledge of programs (e.g. Matching Grant, Public/Private Partnership, etc.) and public benefits available for refugees and asylees during their resettlement period
- Intern will learn reporting requirements for resettlement agencies and how to capture data to improve services
- Intern will gain exposure to case work in the resettlement field
Qualifications
- Current undergraduate, graduate student, or less than 12 months out of school*
- Ability to work independently and under pressure in a fast-paced environment
- Organized with attention to detail
- Creativity and initiative to follow through on projects
- Excellent communication and writing skills
- An interest in international and refugee issues
- Interest in or experience working in a multi-cultural setting
- Fluency in one of the following languages is highly desirable but not required: French, Arabic, Amharic, Spanish, Swahili, Farsi or Tigrinya
- Minimum 10 hours per week commitment for a period of 3 months
- Availability for some weeknights and weekends