On September 7, 2008, the African Immigrant & Refugee Resource Center’s (AIRRC) health team attended the Ethiopian & Eritrean New Year’s celebration at Lake Merritt in Oakland. With the help of consultants, Dr. Minale and Dennis Mireri, the AIRRC’s health team obtained 50 surveys. This was one of many events where the AIRRC has been conducting the health needs assessment survey. The goal of this survey is to strengthen the African immigrant communities and to gather community input on how to improve health care access.

Two of the African Immigrant & Refugee Resource Center’s health interns shared a booth with the Ethiopian Cultural Institute of San Jose to conduct outreach for survey participants. The team talked with members of the Ethiopian Nurses Association, who are also doing their own health survey and are working to collaborate on data analysis.

The African Immigrant & Refugee Resource Center has carried out similar outreach work for the past six months among the diverse San Franciscan and East Bay African immigrant communities. The Center’s big community outreach kicked-off on April 26, 2008, in partnership with the Department of Public Health Newcomer Program and the Arab Resource & Organizing Center - another San Francisco Immigrant Legal & Education Network member. The Health Legal Forum took place at the Center’s office in San Francisco’s Western Addition, as an opportunity to discuss immigrants’ concerns on eligibility and legal status when accessing health services. Interns and staff from all agencies provided interpretation services in French, Arabic, Tigrinya, and Amharic to participants from Togo, the Ivory Coast, Morocco, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.

The event included a Know Your Rights skit showing participants what to do during an immigration raid. Speakers discussed immigrant health insurance programs, legal status concerns, health services, and the myths of becoming a public charge. Staff attorney for the Arab Resource & Organizing Center, Christine Stouffer, provided individual legal counseling at the end of the event to several participants.

The African Immigrant & Refugee Resource Center will continue through the year to work closely with African institutions throughout the Bay Area. More educational workshops are being planned with community leaders to examine the health concerns many may have. Many African immigrants are looking to service providers, like the AIRRC, to provide information on issues such as health insurance for children and adults, child education, childcare services, immigrant friendly healthcare facilities and legal rights on different benefits.

The African Immigrant & Refugee Resource Center hopes the continual diverse participation in these projects will further the voice of immigrants and those concerned with improved health care. Let us continue this path towards community empowerment and health services for all!

Story written by Joe Sciarrillo of the African Immigrant & Refugee Resource Center.