The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development NGO focused on refugee emergency aid and long-term assistance. Each year thousands of people fleeing violence and persecution are assisted by the IRC in seeking safety and resettling in new countries. Approximately 10% of the refugees resettling in Dallas arrive as young adults (ages 18-28). Resettlement can be difficult for refugees in this age range because they are too old for public school education, sometimes too young to have applicable skills to join the workforce, and not yet eligible for documentation required for college. How can we improve the resettlement experience for emerging refugees in Dallas?
We partnered with the IRC to explore ways to improve the experience of those resettling in their early adult years and introduce new opportunities for refugees to build peer connections and learn critical skills for integration.
Timeframe: 14 weeks, January – May 2017
This project was one of two capstone Studio courses I took in the Master’s in Design and Innovation program at SMU. I collaborated with three teammates to conduct empathy interviews with refugees and community leaders, facilitated brainstorming and co-creation sessions, crafted design principles, and prototyped experiences.
User Research & Contextual Inquiry
Experiential Prototyping & Service Storming
Ideation
Facilitation
Visual Design
Recently resettled refugees rely heavily on the IRC’s programs for monetary and housing assistance, job placement, English courses, and cultural education. Most of the available programming targets older adults while eligible children are enrolled in schools that offer support for refugees. Many in the young adult age range wish to pursue higher education similar to their American peers, but this process is complicated by credit transfer guidelines and the specific English capabilities of each refugee. They are also unable to receive federal student aid until they receive their green card, which requires at least one year of residency in the United States. With ample free time and a lack of structure, many in this age range face isolation and loneliness. These issues can lead to depression, and at an extreme, criminal activity, exacerbating mental health issues many refugees may already have from escaping harm in their home country.
We spent most of our research time speaking to refugees, support staff at the IRC, and community leaders in Vickery Meadow. Despite working with the refugees through an interpreter, we employed a handful of non-verbal activities to help get around the language barrier, such as image prompt cards and a “tell your story on a timeline” activity. We also spent time exploring Vickery Meadow and its businesses and community spaces to help us contextualize the struggles we heard about refugees’ new lives in Dallas. Our research and fieldwork surfaced three themes.
English Language Acquisition
One of the greatest barriers to becoming self-reliant is refugees’ inability to communicate in English. The importance of learning English emerged in 90% of our conversations with refugees and experts. Refugees noticed their English abilities gave them an advantage over their peers in navigating the world and enabled them to operate more independently.
Peer-to-Peer Support
When asked about the things they missed most about home, refugees were quick to mention their friends. Some refugees we spoke with no longer engaged in their favorite activities and pastimes because they didn't have friends around to do them with. Refugees in this age range are more likely to arrive in the United States alone than other groups, which can further the potential for isolation and loneliness. Many of the refugees we engaged with lamented spending much of their time alone and wished greatly to meet new people.
Mental Models
Differences in cultural norms, economic status, and lifestyle contribute to a disconnect between life in America and how refugees saw the world before they were displaced. What types of jobs exist, their options for recreation, and how to pursue higher education can feel completely unknown and daunting to new refugees. While this can be true for refugees of all ages, it is especially difficult for those in our target age range who are emerging as adults and making pivotal decisions about their future.
Those considerations led us to develop a set of five principles that any solution for Weekend University must address in order to succeed.
Be experiential and adventurous.
Create moments where all involved feel comfortable and confident.
Provide group social experiences.
Help refugees practice English in an immersive environment.
The Peer Adventure Crew is a series of local excursions intended to foster exploration and socialization for young adult refugees, helping them meet new peers and experience their new home. One of the most efficient paths toward successful integration into a new society is immersion. By attending up to eight trips with the Peer Adventure Crew in a year, refugees would have an opportunity to be exposed to a variety of events occurring throughout Dallas, including arts and culture, sports, and education.
To help the IRC implement the Peer Adventure Crew, we created a series of guidebooks for pre-planned excursions, branding and marketing material for the program, artifacts and handouts for use during the trips, and a manual that the IRC can use as a guide when creating future adventures. Our team believed in the potential of this program so much that we took it upon ourselves to raise the money to fund the first adventure, which took place in June 2017.
