Offices of Immigrant Youth and Equity to Replicate SDRCC’s Community-Centered Model Across the State

An innovative, community-led transformation model developed by the UC San Diego Refugee Health Unit (RHU), a core initiative of the UC San Diego Center for Community Health (CCH) at the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute, has attracted statewide attention for leading coordinated action to address structural inequities faced by refugee communities.

Using the RHU-founded San Diego Refugee Communities Coalition (SDRCC) as a blueprint, UC San Diego has been invited by the California Department of Social Services’ Offices of Immigrant Youth and Equity to replicate SDRCC’s community-centered model across the state by leading the implementation of a new program—one that will provide a range of direct services and support to newly arrived youth and families from Afghanistan.

As the statewide granting agency for nearly $13 million in federal funds from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the university is overseeing the delivery of the Afghan Refugee School Impact (ARSI) & Afghan Youth Mentoring (AYM) Program in four regions within California. This involves partnering with ethnic community-based organizations to engage and connect youth and families with culturally and linguistically competent local resources and provide them with the academic and social support they need to integrate into their new communities.