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Informed Response to Refugee Trauma

August 11 2022
1:00 PM EDT

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Families and young children who have experienced resettlement often arrive in the US having undergone traumatic experiences of war, persecution, and extreme violence. Then they face additional traumas and stressors upon entry to the US due to misconceptions about the resettlement process and the racism they are shown. Join this webinar with the University of California San Francisco Child Trauma Research Program to better understand how to recognize trauma, support families and children, and work towards embracing the strengths and assets these individuals bring to our communities.

As the war in Ukraine pesists, its adverse effects on a nation of children become more deeply rooted. And we are reminded that Ukrainian children, many of whom have been forced to flee with their families, are not the first to suffer this fate. In 2020, half of the 34 million refugees and asylum seekers forcibly displaced from their own countries were children. But upon arrival to this country, many refugees of color are soon faced with the additional burdens of inequitable, racist, and anti-Black immigration/refugee policies, and they realize this country may not provide the solution to their problems.

The BUILD Initiative will present a webinar series featuring the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), Civitas Strategies, University of California San Francisco, Pamoja Early Childhood Workforce Program (Empowering Communities Global), and other experts in the field, including refugees, exploring: 1) how racism continues to traumatize immigrants and refugees, and 2) strategies that build on refugee and immigrant strength and resilience.

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