Thank you very much Joe for setting this blog up!
One thing Joe said to me on my way out after meeting that stuck with me: "Connecting refugees their particular culture's community in San Diego will help them more than we could ever individually. Maybe finding ways to connect refugees to those who are best equipped to help may be the most beneficial act of service we could make for our families."
One more plug for Mary Pipher's book The Middle of Everywhere: Helping Refugees Enter the American Community (this is the newer version of her book The Middle of Everywhere: The World's Refugees Come To Our Town)
If anything I said during our meeting last friday resonated with you (or even if it didn't. haha:), I highly encourage you to pick this book up as probably more than half of what came out of my mouth was paraphrasing Mary Pipher's words from this book
link to free fix-it service for any households with occupants 60+ years old http://www.jfssd.org/site/PageServer?pagename=programs_older_fix_it
link to free car-seat 2 hour class and booster: http://www.pscsd.com/car-seat-safety/car-seat-program.html
looking forward to a fruitful collaboration.
Warmly,
mitchell hambley
(831)601-7484
Mitchell,
ReplyDeleteRespect and trust-building is key to our relationships, as you pointed out. When speaking Russian with my family, I am always careful to use the "formal/respectful" manner of speech with Tamara (their mother).
Also, Erin has made a point of inviting the Russians out on Saturdays to do something fun/active. Doing so let's them know we care for their overall wellness/happiness, and really strengthens our relations.
Best,
Joe