OMC’s activities during its first years as part of the Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Family Initiative

Select a project to the right, or, download this report.

Workshops

Workshops are an opportunity to share information with community members about how and where to access services in critical areas including law enforcement, employment, business, housing, education, healthcare, and more. OMC works to remove language as a barrier to connecting immigrants and refugees with services and fosters trust between immigrants, refugees and service providers.

Lieutanent Darin Sagel leads the Law Enforcement Workshop.

Connectivity with the Community

OMC disseminates important information to stakeholders—immigrants, refugees and receiving community members. Communication includes sharing information regarding

• workshops
• events
• activities
• programs

Communication is done through

• email
• mail
• flyers
• pamphlets
• word-of-mouth
• representation on boards

Information Sharing

Information sharing provides an opportunity for OMC to interact with community members both one-on-one and in groups. Information sharing is provided as needed and is responsive to the needs of the community.

• MC partnered with Lutheran Family Services and Morgan County School District RE-3 to host a town hall meeting on the Somali culture. The meeting was meant to be a proactive approach to introducing receiving community members to some of Morgan County’s newest neighbors.
• Upon request, OMC meets with clubs and organization to talk about OMC and share immigrant and refugee information.
• OMC has partnered with the Fort Morgan Times to publish a monthly article that profiles a Morgan County immigrant or refugee.
• OMC was established as a phase-one grantee of The Colorado Trust’s Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families Initiative (SIRFI). The Colorado Trust has funded nineteen grantees across Colorado over two phases. Each grantee has taken on its own identity, substance and name. When a new SIRFI grantee started in Greeley, Colorado as part of SIRFI’s second phase, OMC provided examples of OMC’s projects in order to share and help that program’s steering committee to imagine the possibilities as they strategized on how they would pursue and define their initiative.

International Music Fest

OMC sponsors and organizes an annual International Music Fest. The music fest is an opportunity for attendees to experience music and food from around the world and to celebrate diversity.

Visit International Music Festival website.

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Facilitation of Meetings/Dialogue

OMC provides opportunities for immigrant, refugee and receiving community members to build and maintain a productive dialogue. These opportunities break down barriers, connect people, and build relationships. Coffee & Culture meetings and luncheons are one example of how OMC provides these opportunities.

Problem Solving

OMC is engaged in helping to address complex issues stemming from immigration and refugee resettlement.

• OMC partnered with Morgan Community College Adult Basic Education to initiate a parent support group for immigrant and refugee parents. The group continues today and is called Padres Triunfadores (Successful Parents). It is meant to be a resource for parenting information, parenting strategies, coping mechanisms, and recognition of successes. OMC has contracted with an adult education instructor to provide a facilitator for this group. The facilitator also provides liaison support between immigrant and refugee parents and the local school districts.
• In summer 2008, Don Heer, owner and operator of Heer Mortuary, contacted OMC and asked for assistance with developing a plan for providing funeral services for the Somali refugees in Fort Morgan. OMC was able to organize and facilitate a conversation between Mr. Heer and local Somali Elders that resulted in a tentative plan in the event of a death of a Somali refugee. Mr. Heer has the only mortuary service in Morgan County and wanted to be prepared and sensitive to the cultural traditions of the Somali Muslim refugees. Based on the content of the conversation and the assumptions and questions that were revealed, this meeting was a proactive step in reducing misunderstandings and confusion.
• OMC participated in a brainstorming session with staff from Morgan Community College Adult Basic Education, Morgan County School District and the Spring Institute of Intercultural Learning to address the dynamic challenges facing the school district and greater community as immigrants and African refugees resettle here. This brainstorming session resulted, in part, in a training for school district staff that was provided by the Spring Institute.
• OMC has been involved in helping Morgan County School District RE-3 to build a relationship with the Somali refugee community. OMC has been participating in regular meetings that bring together school administration and local Somali Elders. These meetings have taken place at different schools within the district. RE-3 administrators have been able to emphasize school expectations and Somali Elders have been able to share obstacles. These meetings have exemplified the notion of give and take.
• OMC was approached by the Morgan County Department of Human Services to help organize a meeting between Human Services staff and the Somali Elders. OMC was able to help organize a meeting and conversation around child protection practices, expectations and regulations in Morgan County.

Flexibility and availability

Flexibility and availability are key to OMC’s success and have helped OMC to become involved in numerous partnerships.

Opportunities for Volunteers

Leaders from several local organizations have come together to help develop a volunteer and mentor training program. The Mentor Volunteer Program (MVP) is being established in order to provide training and support for people who want to volunteer or mentor at a variety of levels and for a variety of organizations in our community. As of July 2009 a pilot training session is underway to implement and further develop the training curriculum.

OneMorgan County (OMC) supports MVP and will be working with the program to offer training and support for community members who wish to volunteer for OMC. OMC is working to identify the committees and roles that will be available for volunteers for the upcoming year. Also, people interested in volunteering should consider attending the Community Forum on August 20, 2009 where volunteer support will be discussed.

Creativity

OMC aims to lead by example, introduce new approaches to integration, encourage a new philosophy and offer tangible opportunities to enact new methods and new attitudes.

Immersion Trip to Mexico

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