Request for Applications: Afghan Refugee School Impact – Support to Schools (ARSI—S2S) and Ukrainian Refugee School Impact (URSI)
Public Health Institute's (PHI) Sehat Initiative, in partnership with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), Office of Immigrant Youth (OIY), is thrilled to share our Request for Applications with Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) who serve Afghan and Ukrainian newcomers with a focus on supporting school-aged children and youth.
The Afghan Refugee School Impact – Support to Schools (ARSI–S2S) and Ukrainian Refugee School Impact (URSI) programs aim to build capacity in California to support the academic performance of young Afghan and Ukrainian newcomers and the successful integration of these children, youth, and their families into their communities.
The application due date is Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at 5:00 pm (PDT). All required documents should be submitted by the deadline. For any inquiries or assistance, please contact us at refugeeschoolimpact@phi.org.
To view the Request for Applications document, visit here.
For Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Request for Applications (RfA), see here. To view the RFA informational webinar, visit here. To view the technical assistance webinar, visit here.
Request for Extensions: Our staff are reviewing proposals as they are submitted. However, due to our staff and community partners observing holidays during this period, including Eid ul Fitr, Sehat Initiative will consider extensions up to May 15th, 5:00 pm PDT. If you would like to request an extension, have a question, or need technical assistance, please contact us at refugeeschoolimpact@phi.org. We are here to support.
Who we are:
SEHAT Initiative (SI), a project of the Public Health Institute (PHI), has been established in response to the humanitarian and healthcare needs of refugee and immigrant populations. The focus of SI is to improve the health and well-being of refugee and immigrant populations in California and throughout the United States. Founded by medical and public health experts from within the refugee and immigrant community, SI serves as a crucial bridge between refugees and immigrants and their wider medical and social environment. SEHAT (صحت), the Arabic/Afghan word for health, foretells a healthy beginning of a new life in the United States. SI projects are implemented in close collaboration with refugees and immigrants, community-based organizations, researchers, and academic institutions.
Why we are needed:
The resettlement of refugees is a pressing issue, not only for the refugees, but also a wide assortment of service providers including federal, state, local health jurisdictions, resettlement agencies, physicians, healthcare providers, and school districts. Service providers lack sufficient culturally congruent technical expertise, leading to refugees' healthcare challenges being overlooked or overmedicalized. This in turn, results in needless suffering to refugees and enormous healthcare costs.
What we do:
Our refugee health experts provide evidence-based, culturally-congruent, and trauma-informed technical expertise, education, training, and consultation to refugees and health service providers, and conduct research to generate evidence and advance knowledge related to refugee health.
In its current capacity, SI provides support in three areas:
1) Education: Educate refugees on health and wellness and improve their access to healthcare services in the United States
2) Training: Train service providers on refugee health profile, evidence-based, culturally congruent, and trauma-informed services
3) Research: Conduct refugee health research and evaluation by employing validated scales and methods tailored for refugees