By Allison Zucker
“The two people in the picture are Amal Mohamed on the right in the black; Nimo Abas on the left in the red; Amal is involved in the SWIM Community Writing Group and Nimo is an Outreach Worker and Patient Educator at the People's Center Clinic --and is also involved with SWIM.”
Minneapolis is home to the largest Somali population in America. In 1999, Somali Women In Minneapolis, or SWIM, operating under the umbrella of the family programs of East Side Neighborhood Services (ESNS), became the first organization specifically geared towards meeting the needs of women in the area Somali community. Such a focus is crucial—war and instability in Somalia have left many refugee families with single female parents caring for children. Through education and collaboration, SWIM’s goal is the integration of Somali women and their families into the fabric of American society while providing resources for creating and sustaining a supportive, self-reliant, and vital Somali community in Minneapolis.
From the moment a refugee family lands in Minneapolis, SWIM’s orientation and welcome services address many of the new arrivals’ pressing needs—enrolling children in school, finding housing and employment, understanding US laws and customs, addressing safety concerns and cultural and language barriers, getting around the city, and tapping into other support networks.
For Somali women to become self-reliant, learning English is essential, particularly in navigating the workplace environment and keeping a job. In addition to language and job skills development, SWIM offers classes on US work culture covering topics such as employment rights, with an added opportunity to address cultural barriers, anxieties, and self-esteem issues. Specific job trainings include instruction in how to become home healthcare workers, provide childcare, clean houses, and sew.
Establishing trust is important for ECBOs working with resettled Somali women. By having a largely Somali staff, SWIM is familiar with the pressing issues and specific concerns of Somali refugees, particularly important when engaging with a population that has been subject to incredible difficulties in their home country. At SWIM’s offices, located on the east side of Minneapolis in an area with a significant Somali population, women can take classes on health insurance, nutrition and exercise, American citizenship, language, parenting, and dealing with family and community violence. SWIM also provides transportation services, helps find individual medical and psychological therapy, and advocates on behalf of the community. The staff is trained to address hate crimes and works with families who are targeted. Currently, SWIM is organizing a series of dialogues between the police and older youth with the goal of building more positive relationships. Group and one-on-one services are offered by a small full- and part-time staff, along with numerous volunteers, both within and outside of the Somali community. In a recent addition, further staffing comes from the SWIM Elders, participants in an innovative program that, in addition to providing English and citizenship classes, employs elderly Somali’s in SWIM intergenerational programming.
SWIM receives support and assistance from many Somali community leaders and works with the Minneapolis population at large to build partnerships and find youth mentors to provide one-on-one support and guidance. As a multi-service organization, SWIM’s connections throughout the Twin Cities assist in providing a range of services and in relaying their message through website reports, program flyers, community meetings, and Somali television stations.
Employees of SWIM first met team members of IRC’s Project SOAR at a regional meeting hosted by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. Desiring a better strategic plan for the organization, and impressed by SOAR’s attentiveness to the needs of new Americans, SWIM employees embarked on a series of interactive training workshops with SOAR via the Internet and in conference calls. Through these trainings, as well as an intense three-day session with a SOAR affiliated expert, SWIM has been able to improve its staff and programming skills as well as develop more effective communications to strengthen its fundraising prospects, improve its grant proposals, and more accurately describe and promote their organization to key constituents.
By offering a variety of services and programs, SWIM has established a valuable presence in the Twin Cities for Somali women. By organizing the community’s energies and effectiveness, supporting and mentoring each other, SWIM is helping resettled Somali women move toward their ultimate goal—self-sufficiency.
In response to the long-term goals of many participants, SWIM has created a new initiative called MOVE ON to help families achieve economic self-sufficiency and the goal of home ownership. Focusing on the ABCs of finance through the teaching of principles and methods for developing financial assets, stability and financial responsibility, this 12-month education program will provide potential homeowners with the practical and essential resources, knowledge, and information to help them succeed.
Acknowledgements:
In fall of 2009, as part of the Graduate Practicum in International Affairs, four graduate students at New School University partnered with the International Rescue Committee and three Minnesota Ethnic Community Based Organizations (ECBOs) to complete profiles of these community-based organizations’ work, for their use in outreach and public education
For More Information, Contact:
Somali Women in Minnesota
East Side Neighborhood Services (ESNS) www.esns.org
1700 Second Street NE
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55413
Jane Hanger-Seeley seeljh@esns.org
Director of the Family Community Department
617-781-6011
