The Baltimore Resettlement Center

1
The Baltimore Resettlement Center
is a one-stop service center for newly arrived
refugees. Forced to flee their home countries,
refugees need help in adjusting to life in
America.
2
Located in a storefront in southeast Baltimore,
the BRC provides a variety of services
for refugees at a single site, including case
management, employ-ment assistance and English
language instruction---to name only a few.
3
The success of the Baltimore Resettlement Center
depends upon individuals working together, each
providing a piece of the resettlement puzzle,
each helping refugees make a new life in America.
4
Unlike other immigrants, refugees receive a
package of services aimed at helping them become
self-sufficient as quickly as possible.
5

• Here an eligibility worker from the Baltimore
  City Department of Social Services out-stationed
  at the BRC enters information about a refugee
  family into the departments data base.
  Meanwhile, employment services staff will help
  family members find jobs.

6
English Language Class
7
Learning English is a key to refugee success in
America. These students from several regions of
the world are eager to learn. Each day, they
study the language for several hours with an
English as a Second Language specialist from
Baltimore City Community College. Refugees are
entitled to eight months of government-supported
English classes.
8
English instruction is practical, placing a
premium on everyday conversation but not ignoring
important points of grammar.
9
BRC staff strive to make refugees feel at home in
their new neighborhoods. Sometimes this means
conveying information in refugee languages. Here
a refugee places a Russian translation of the BRC
guidebook, Welcome to Baltimore, side by side
with her English notes.
10
English language classes at the BRC stress life
skills, instruction in such essential habits as
how to maintain a checking account, pay bills, .
11
and how to keep records and financial statements
organized.
12
At a language class, refugees from the former
Soviet Union, Somalia and the Congo listen
attentively to their instructor. Generally,
younger refugees learn the language more easily
than their elders.
13
Sometimes learning can be challenging, but the
staff of the BRC is always ready to help students
work through each project!
14
Helping refugees become self-sufficient means
helping them succeed in the American working
world. At the BRC, case managers and employment
specialists familiarize their refugee clients
with proper workplace behavior, including how to
dress for success.
15
Refugee Families
16
With the help they receive at the Baltimore
Resettlement Center, refugee families can hope to
thrive in their adopted home, free from the
persecution that forced them to flee their home
countries.
17
Keeping families together is always the goal of
the BRC.
18
Life in America is not easy for refugees. They
must adjust to a new culture and work hard, but
the future looks bright for their children.
19
Refugee children grow up as Americans, whose
parents have experienced persecution in the old
country. The children can strive for The
American Dream.