REFUGEE YOUTH PROGRAM
1. OBJECTIVES/GOALS OF THE YOUTH PROGRAM
☐ The goal of the RST Dallas Youth Program is to enhance cultural adjustment, self-sufficiency and
integration into American society for refugee youth.
☐ This is achieved through strengths-based case management, engaging extracurricular activities,
academic support and mentoring.
☐ Multi-faceted programs using partnerships and strategies pertaining to the unique needs of refugee
youth lead to significant performance improvements in schools, lower drop-out and gang involvement
rates, easier adjustment to life in the US, and higher quality of overall mental health and stability.
☐ Approximately 400 new refugee students enter the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) each
year. According to DISD, the graduation rate for refugee students is less than 35 percent. The refugee
drop-out rate is the highest among immigrant populations enrolled in the district.
☐ DISD estimates that refugee students who participate in specialized programming such as music
instruction and sports are twice as likely to graduate.
2. STRENGTHS-BASED CASE MANAGEMENT
☐ RST believes that refugee children possess exceptional talents and abilities to thrive in the US. By
focusing on these strengths, a client-centered case management approach is emphasized to educate,
empower and support clients throughout their integration process and transition.
☐ Case management ensures appropriate and timely access to community resources, medical and
mental health care and advocacy on academic issues.
☐ Refugee parents and youth take a leading role in case management through participatory
development of service plans with clearly identified action steps.
☐ Case management focuses on strengthening existing skills and capabilities and supporting clients to
accomplish their identified goals.
3. DROP-IN YOUTH CENTRE
☐ Operates two to three days per week during the summer for two to three hours each day.
☐ The drop-in youth center serves as a safe, comfortable environment where high-school aged refugee
youth can express themselves, pose questions and discuss challenges in a friendly, accepting and
understanding context.
☐ Academic tutoring and homework help is provided to clients who are in need by dedicated volunteers
and mentors. The center also serves as a centralized location where mentors can hold their weekly
meetings with mentees.
☐ Clients participate in a series of workshops based on an extended cultural orientation curriculum that
is designed with the unique needs and challenges of refugee youth in mind. Topics range from
financial management, goal-setting and culture shock to romantic relationships, friendship and
changes in family dynamics.
☐ A wide range of additional activities are also available to youth, ranging from teambuilding activities,
journaling and video games to arts and crafts and soccer practice on the nearby field.
☐ The idea is to not only be productive and supportive of the needs of the youth, but also to allow them
to have fun and enjoy themselves.
☐ Outside community and civil service organizations and agencies such as the Dallas Police and Fire
departments are actively invited and encouraged to attend and participate in order to reach out more
directly to this sensitive demographic in their communities.
4. FIELD TRIPS/OUTINGS
☐ On average, the program participates in two field trips/outings per month. They are generally held on
the weekends, predominantly on Saturdays.
☐ The objective is to expose refugee youth to the full range of extracurricular activities available in the
region and to connect them to opportunities beyond the square mile of their local neighborhood.
☐ Destinations encompass a wide array of interest, such as the Dallas Arts District and its associated
museums and performing arts centers, festivals, cultural and sporting events and zoos, aquariums
and amusement parks.
☐ Itineraries are designed with an academic element in mind. Clients are actively encouraged to
practice their English skills, interact with community members around them, apply lessons from
school and think critically about the world around them.
☐ The Refugee Youth Program is actively developing relationships and partnerships with a number of
local community organizations and sports teams to further open doors and provide valuable
opportunities to refugee youth. Currently, the Youth Program works with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks,
the NHL’s Dallas Stars and MLS’s FC Dallas to provide tickets to program participants to attend
regular season matches.
☐ Past outings have included guided tours of the Winspear Opera House and Dallas Theatre Center,
scavenger hunts at the Nasher Sculpture Center, a celebration of the Indian Festival of Holi at the
Crow Collection of Asian Art, a live simulcast of the Dallas Opera at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and
regular season matches of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks vs the Los Angeles Clippers and MLS’ FC
Dallas vs Seattle Sounders.
5. MENTOR PROGRAM
☐ The fundamental backbone of the Youth Program.
☐ The mentor program is integral in working individually with refugee youth to assist them in their
adjustment to life in the community.
☐ The Youth Mentor Coordinator recruits, trains and manages mentors from the local community who
are culturally-competent, multilingual and eager to work alongside refugee youth. Mentors are
rigorously selected and subject to background investigations before working with youth. Prospective
mentors attend a mandatory orientation where they are fully trained in how to work with youth.
☐ Each trained mentor advises, guides, and nurtures refugee youth to support their educational and
social advancement
☐ The goal is to assist refugee youth with overcoming barriers to integration and social adjustment and
connecting them to greater opportunities in the community. Mentors work alongside program staff to
overcome barriers identified on service plans and address the individual needs of their assigned
mentee
☐ Mentors are given significant leverage to work with mentees in the manner they find most
appropriate to achieve their goals. As each youth is fundamentally different and faces different needs
and challenges, each mentor-mentee relationship is completely unique and can take a number of
forms.
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6. YOUTH SOCCER TEAM
☐ Soccer, the world’s favorite sport, gives refugee youth a rare sense of achievement, freedom and
pleasure. The game of soccer itself provides a useful framework for trying to understand how unlikely
groups of people come together.
☐ Refugee youth participate in organized soccer practice twice a week through the context of the dropin centers.
☐ Teams are fully integrated, mixing youth from various different cultural background, ethnicities,
nationalities and religion in order to foster a unified belief in the “rainbow nation” and the shared
refugee experience.
☐ Communication is entirely in English in order to accelerate language acquisition in the context of a
shared love and passion.
☐ Organized play also builds teamwork, resiliency and encourages healthy habits and physical activity
☐ Future goals are to compete against other local teams and to enter RST teams into local community
tournaments.
7. REFUGEE YOUTH LEADERSHIP TRAINING
☐ A specialized program which aims to empower leadership skills among selected high school aged
refugee and asylee youth by exploring opportunities in higher education, employment and
advocacy/community service.
☐ Participants are chosen based on their ability to connect with younger refugee youth, interest in
community service, leadership potential and exceptional academic and extracurricular achievement.
☐ They serve as peer role models to other program participants. They organize and coordinate activities
and assume leadership roles within the program by leading and supporting teams of refugee youth
and assisting program staff with curriculum and program development.
☐ The peer leadership component is modeled closely after cadet organizations and scouting groups.
☐ Program participants visit local universities and explore career options through site visits and career
fairs. They participate in numerous workshops covering topics related to higher education and career
skills. These workshops include public-speaking, college applications, scholarship and financial aid,
resume and cover letter writing and job interviews.
☐ In addition to leadership roles within the program, these youth serve as ambassadors from the
refugee communities.
8. PARENT ORIENTATIONS/OUTREACH TO MEDICAL AND COMMUNITY PROVIDERS
☐ Initial orientations are provided to parents and guardians of refugee youth in conjunction with R&P
cultural orientation.
☐ RST Dallas parent orientations focus on exploring topics such as safety, nutrition, mental health
support services, family dynamics and parental involvement in both the academic and personal lives
of their children.
☐ RST Dallas collaborates with the Refugee School Impact Grant coordinator through Dallas
Independent School District in order to ensure all parents also attend academic orientations to the
school system.
☐ Additionally, RST Dallas conducts outreach and training to medical and mental health providers to
strength capacity to address the comprehensive needs of refugee youth.
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☐ Medical students are a particular focus of attention as they provide the opportunity to engage
professionals early in their career and prepare them for potentially working with refugee youth in the
future.
☐ RST Dallas also coordinates workshops on youth challenges for both refugee and local communities
in the Dallas suburbs where large and growing refugee communities are present. Presentations by
former refugees who have found success in the US and/or came to the US as youth themselves,
discuss the challenges and difficulties they faced.
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