Work with Refugees
In the Fall of 2004 University Neighborhood Partners initiated a partnership program at the Hartland Apartment complex in Salt Lake City. A three-bedroom apartment in the center of the complex is used for office space, classroom space and as a site for members of the community, community partners and university students to come together. Approximately 1,200 people live at this apartment complex with the majority having recently arrived in the United States as refugees or immigrants.
Occupational therapy students have been completing Level I Fieldwork providing “life skills” training at the center since the doors opened. When the Hartland Center opened many of the residents needing assistance from OT had arrived in the US recently from refugee camps in Kenya where they had lived for more than a decade. Many were Somali Bantu who had little to no experience with the use of electrical appliances, indoor plumbing or public transportation. They arrived in the US without job skills and without any knowledge of how to find employment. More recently Burmese from refugee camps in Thailand are moving into Hartland Apartments and are in need of similar services.
The students have been working with individuals, with families, and have been teaching classes to groups of residents. Topics have included use of public transportation and training in “pre-driving” skills. Pre-driving training includes understanding the rules of the road as well as learning the English words needed to pass the written driver’s test. Education on home safety, home maintenance, and use of appliances has been provided in resident homes. Employment issues have been addressed by teaching residents how to create a resume, fill out a job application, and how to locate employment opportunities in the newspaper and on-line.
Occupational therapy students participating in the UNP-Hartland fieldwork experience practice skills they will need as practitioners (therapeutic use of self, experience with cultures other than their own, grading of activities to promote success). In addition, they see how low-income non-English speaking members of our society are treated by local institutions. They come to understand the hardships these families face and how difficult it can be to navigate the social systems that have been put in place to assist them.
Students from the Division of Occupational Therapy have found this experience to be both educational and rewarding. In this environment they have the opportunity to learn about cultures very different from their own and to see the community and world they live in from a different perspective. They come to understand how occupational therapy services can be of benefit to refugee and immigrant populations and how their role as an OT can include activities designed to improve institutionalized social systems.
On July 27, 2009, the Salt Lake Tribune did an article on the Karen women's weaving group. Click here to read the article. There was also a similar article published in the South Salt Lake community newspaper. Click here to read the article.
