5 Job Duties of a Refugee Coordinator
- Connect Americans
- Promote Mental Health
- Fill Jobs
- Coordinate Cultural Exchange
- Freeing the Innocent
Refugee coordinators have a tough role. They’re often underpaid, working for underfunded organizations and balancing a full plate of responsibilities. What motivates them? Why should students consider a career path in refugee services? For many coordinators, their work is more than just a job. It’s a way to change the world for the better.
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1. Connect Americans
Coordinators don’t work by themselves. New families need plenty of support: Rides to medical appointments, help to navigate government forms and friends to take them to social events. A key job duty for refugee workers is connecting Americans to refugees. This helps locals have a better understanding of the trials refugees are facing in a new country. It also fosters lifelong friendships between Americans who were born in the country and Americans who chose to live in the country.
2. Promote Mental Health
Life as a refugee can be harrowing. According to the U. S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, mental health services are rarely available, and these services may be stigmatized or confusing to immigrants from other cultures. Coordinators provide informal counseling and referrals to more concrete services. It’s important for workers in refugee services to understand the symptoms of depression, anxiety and culture shock. By encouraging refugees to seek health care and helping them qualify for Medicaid or health insurance, workers make the world a better, happier place.
3. Fill Jobs
There are a lot of jobs that nobody wants to do. Sweeping floors for minimum wage, processing carcasses at a slaughterhouse or picking fruit in the fields are physically demanding undesirable jobs. For many refugees, they’re a way to get a foot in the door on the path to a better life. Coordinators work with local businesses who need temporary workers to fill job gaps. The work isn’t glamorous, but it is necessary. Refugees can start earning money at a job that doesn’t require English skills or an American degree. Businesses can keep the lights on and the plant running. Everyone wins.
4. Coordinate Cultural Exchange
Besides the humanitarian arguments for accepting refugees, there’s another reason to welcome strangers from other countries: Cultural exchange. Americans love Mexican food, Korean spas, and Brazilian blow-outs; all those amenities come from immigrants and refugees. Coordinators improve their communities by helping Americans meet refugees and exchange cultural traditions. Many refugee centers host community-wide Thanksgiving celebrations and encourage clients to celebrate major events from their own culture with American friends and neighbors. These small exchanges add up to big understandings between people, which makes the world a better place.
5. Teach English
Most refugee resettlement programs are run by small non-profit organizations. In small offices, workers wear many hats. A coordinator will spend some job hours on administrative tasks or filling in for coworkers in different areas. It’s also common for coordinators to end up teaching English classes or assisting with them. This is a fun way to spend meaningful time with refugee clients and see a direct benefit. Staff usually appreciate this job duty.
Some jobs pay in more than just money. Going home with a sense of satisfaction is a priceless feeling. For refugee coordinators, every day is filled with meaning and joy.
