Ethnic Community-based Organization for Refugees (ECOR) Salt Lake City, Utah

Partner Organizations Musungu HIV/AIDS Support Organization The Latter Day Saints Church Burundi Drummers/Dancers

ECOR SCALE Team Esther Munene Anthony Ngaruiya Jason Raphael Project Coordinator ECOR, Utah State Department of Health Anthony Ngaruiya Improvement Advisor, ECOR Jason Raphael Community Champion, ECOR Piero & Esther Program Assistant, ECOR Becky Faith Community Champion Musa Community member Zahara Events Coordinator

Ethnic Community-based Organization for Refugees (ECOR) ECOR is a non-profit organization that wants to address social determinants of health from a multi-disciplinary perspective. We serve refugee communities in Salt Lake City and the metropolitan areas. Our services include: Welcoming newly-arriving refugees. Ensuring new arrivals have decent, safe, and sanitary housing, essential furnishings, food, and other basic necessities. Providing referrals to health services/programs and screening. Help with school registration. Providing job training and transportation. Connecting refugees to essential health and social services. We are looking for a community that has experience with program implementation, PDSA methodology, and program evaluation in underserved communities.

Top Three Sources of Pride in our Community Our people. Community empowerment. Peer to peer networks.

Area(s) of Focus for our SCALE Work Connecting refugees to community resources and essential services ECOR will create a New-comer’s Guide and Video that will answer questions such as, where to seek care, who gives care, and how to pay for care. develop a Resource Guide, a directory for healthcare and social programs, facilities, and community resources in Utah. Expand “The Village” and create a “Virtual Village” The Village consists of monthly meetings aimed at promoting health by bringing together individuals from different refugee ethnic groups to talk about issues impacting their communities, share experiences, learn from each other, and offer mutual support. We will increase village meetings to twice a month. Create the Virtual Village, an online community, where members can chat or ask questions (anonymously if they choose to) and get 24/7 support on issues and referrals to services. Implement and evaluate the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP)- an action-oriented strategic plan to serve as the foundation for improving and promoting the health of refugee communities in Salt Lake City. We will: We plan to improve equity by engaging community members in all activities related to these projects.

We are most proud of our work to… Promote health and well being of communities by bringing together individuals from various refugee ethnic groups to talk about issues impacting their communities, share their experiences navigating the U.S. healthcare system and other services, learn from each other, and offer mutual support. Identify and prioritize needs in refugee communities (we conducted a needs assessment in 2013 and in 2014 developed an action plan for addressing identified needs) Connect refugees to health and social services in the community. The Village, promotes a sense of community and informs and empowers individuals, and promotes health and well-being of our communities. These social interactions help to create a sense of respect for individual worth and a sense of belonging to society, which help to reduce the manifestations of exclusion, such as crime, violence, self-harm, and depression. We identified top health and social priorities in the communities. Top priorities included : lack of access to adequate healthcare, need for culturally- sensitive information about community resources, and unemployment. Poverty continues to influence each of these priority areas and was found to be the cause of greatest disparity. We are in the process of developing a Resource Guide, a directory for healthcare and social programs, facilities, and community resources in Utah.

We know a lot about….. We need help with….. Empowerment as a health- enhancing strategy to reduce health disparities. Creating initiatives that embody community voice, support, and participation (for sustainable long-term results). Cultural competency Evaluating our community-based projects.

Favorite Hometown Spot(s) Arches National Park near Moab The Mormon Temple, Salt Lake City “The greatest snow on earth” Park City

Our Community Theme Song Together we are one Written by Goodrem, Delta / Mcfadden, Brian / Chambers, Guy. Words We Live By….. Here we are sharing our lives We made it through the good and bad times And still we stand with hope in our hearts No matter what we will play our part And now we've come so far One chance to touch a star Go higher and higher Find your guiding inspiration In a place where dreams are made With a lifetime's preparation It's no time to be afraid Put our differences behind us While we shine like the sun See what we've all become Together we are one Deep inside your heart and soul You've worked so hard to reach your goal With every step with every breath You gave it all till there was nothing left Seek out the strength to win No thoughts of giving in Go higher and higher See what we've all become Together we are one Everyone has something to contribute.

Celebrity Spokesperson Who Best Represents Us (and why) Angelina Jolie Her interest and determination to help the displaced, publicize their plight and lobby for international assistance has never flagged. Named a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in 2001. Jolie has carried out more than 40 field missions to some of the most remote regions of the world to highlight the plight of millions of uprooted people and to advocate for their protection. More about Angelina http://www.unrefugees.org/angelina- jolie-unhcr-special-envoy/

Best way to contact us: Address 2284 East Renegade Road, Sandy, UT, 84093 Email Ecor-Utah@gmail.com or Elsien1972@gmail.com Phone 801-512-1090