Lost in Translation: Navigating a new life
The Rhode Island Department of Human Services said refugees come to Rhode Island from 20 to 30 different countries, evenly divided among men and women, ranging in ages from infancy to 80-year-olds. (WJAR)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Starting a new life in a new country is difficult. One must learn the culture, laws, and more importantly the language.
The number of refugees and immigrants in the United States has risen over the past few years.
It is why we have created the "Lost in Translation" series to learn if and how Rhode Island is helping them overcome everyday barriers.
Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island is celebrating its 100th year of service on June 23. Executive Director Kathy Cloutier sat down with NBC 10 News ahead of the non-profit's celebration to discuss how they have assisted their clients over the years.
"We offer some behavioral health services as well as intensive case management to really connect people to resources in the community. We also offer immigration and legal services to help people get their green cards and citizenship, as well as full language access, interpreting, and translations," said Cloutier. "We can provide interpreters in person. We can translate documents. So, all of the things that someone would need to navigate their new community, that's how I like to describe what we offer."
NBC 10's Temi-Tope Adeleye sat in on one of Dorcas International's literacy classes for adult immigrants and refugees.
Dozens of students spend months in a classroom learning survival English and how to read to better communicate with their new neighbors.
Cloutier said it is not as easy as some may think.
" Without having full fluency in the new language, it takes folks longer to figure things out right unless they already know someone or have some mentor or someone's kind of introducing them to those things, so language is always a new challenge," said Cloutier.
The Rhode Island Department of Human Services said refugees come to Rhode Island from 20 to 30 different countries, evenly divided among men and women, ranging in ages from infancy to 80-year-olds.
In recent years, the number of refugees has fluctuated between 100 and 345 per year, many of them ending up in classrooms at Dorcas International.
"We're not looking for people necessarily to assimilate, which is what you think of like [a melting pot] and it really is sharing your culture and having us share our culture and that just makes it a richer culture right?" said Cloutier.
In the next Lost in Translation, NBC 10 News sits down with instructor Debra McCoy to see how she teaches the English language to our newest neighbors.
Dorcas International is celebrating 100 years of this kind of service with a celebration on June 23, with NBC 10's Mario Hilario as the emcee.
If you would like to learn how you can purchase a ticket and attend, visit the Dorcas International website.