The City of Grand Rapids is hoping to educate the public on refugees in the community. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion, in partnership with The Refugee Education Center, are hosting the “Refugee Education, Lunch and Learn,” to discuss “the process of refugee resettlement and the unique needs of refugees in our community” with the public.
“As much as refugees have unique needs that need to be addressed, they also bring a lot of gifts into our community,” Refugee Education Center Executive Director Susan Kragt said. “Diversity and language and thought—so I want to make sure that we don’t see refugees as just people with needs, like all of us that have needs (but) they also have gifts.”
According to Kragt, there are 25,000 refugees in West Michigan.
“We try to help educate the community about what are some of those areas that might be a sticking point,” Kragt said. “And then we work with refugees to help them understand, ‘ok this is what the culture is here, this is how we do things,’ and help them navigate (that.)”
The event will take place Tuesday, May 15, 2018, at 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at City Hall Commission Chambers. There is no cost and lunch will be provided.
Founded in 2006, the Refugee Education Center is dedicated to “helping refugee families already living in the greater Grand Rapids area that wish to integrate more fully into the West Michigan community,” according to their website.
