1. Stories from Young Refugees

2. Who is a refugee? Give legal definition for US
Under United States law, a refugee is someone who:
Is located outside of the United States
Is of special humanitarian concern to the United States
Demonstrates that they were persecuted or fear persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group Is not firmly resettled in another country
Is admissible to the United States

3. How do refugees experience life?
Painted in very negative terms like PTSD, mental illness… These are important issues to the community. While sitting in on a Somali elders meeting in Minneapolis, they identified suicide as one of the biggest issues facing the community. many barriers– we will ask about this... But that is not all we will ask (elude to the next slide)

4. Okay, but who are they as people
Okay, but who are they as people? Lessons Learned from Buddhist Monks in a Tibetan refugee neighborhood
How do they self-define themselves? This is the first question we hope to answer. I learned that you cannot trust your expectations for a group. I taught Buddhist monks for a couple of months and I was prepared to adjust to a traditional tibetan classroom. Dedication of merit, English lessons learning vocabulary that would help them to teach the dharma. Instead all they wanted to do was discuss football and show me photos of them at pool parties and group jumping photos on the beach in mumbai. Allowing people to self define brings out the humanity in people.

5. Changing the Focus How can people THRIVE rather than just survive?
Identify and tap into inner resilience and strengths of people and communities
Allow the people themselves to represent their own experiences
What is a good life for them? Focus on how to thrive rather than just survive.

6. How do people thrive? What helps people experience good life?
individual level
micro level
meso level
macro level

7. Current Project Participants
Adolescent refugees (13-17)
Foster care and living with family (2 separate focus groups)
Primarily from the Middle East
Intersectionality
Cultural brokers

8. Current Project What do you want people to know about you?
What does being a refugee mean to you?
What are some challenges that you face as a young refugee?
How do you overcome these challenges? From where do you derive strength? What or who has been helpful?

9. The Method- Photovoice
Photovoice--- show some old photos from the last project?

10. Current Stage
Made contact with community organizations, willing to recruit for the project
IRB in progress (full review)

11. Thank you! Library Mini Grants Justin Schell
Advisors Fiona Lee and Mari Kira
Shima Sadaghiyani and Maria Tout