DAAA, with a federal grant awarded in March 2005 through the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging, is continuing its efforts to bridge the gap between older refugees and assistance provided through its service provider network. Under this grant, DAAA is working in partnership with community groups to assist older refugees in Iraqi, Hmong and Bosnian communities. DAAA and its partner organizations will:
- Hold monthly Senior Refugee Task Force meetings to address elderly refugee needs;
- Provide information and assistance to the targeted older refugee groups;
- Conduct outreach to older refugees to increase awareness of available services;
- Translate service information into languages used by older refugees;
- Train bi-lingual volunteers to counsel refugees about Medicare-related benefits;
- Provide cultural competency training to older adult service providers; and
- Implement other strategies to increase older refugees’ access to aging network services.
For three years prior to this grant, DAAA operated a Senior Refugee Project, which worked with the Iraqi, Hmong and Bosnian communities. In August 2004, 60 agencies and refugee representatives attended a DAAA “Bridging the Gap” workshop, which issued a report “Breaking Down Barriers to Older Immigrants”. The report identified several strategies for breaking down older immigrant barriers: expand immigrant awareness of community resources; provide cultural awareness training to service providers; expand services provided in the immigrants’ own language; strengthen immigrant group outreach to the broader community; and contacting lawmakers to find solutions to immigrant issues.
For more information on DAAA’s Senior Refugee Assistance Project, contact Randy Block, Planning Manager, at 313-446-4444, ext. 5842.