Shalom Neighborhood Center: Resource Guide for Immigrants and Refugees

Student Researchers

Our team consisted of Ashilly Lopes, a biology and pre-veterinary major; Kevin Kerhulas, a chemical engineering major; Samuel Ellison, an actuarial mathematics major; and Sebastian Rojas, an electrical and computer engineering major.

Project Sponsor: Shalom Neighborhood Center

Opened in 2010, the Shalom Neighborhood Center (SNC) functions as the social action branch of the Christian Community Church or Iglesia Cristiana de la Comunidad. The center is a nonprofit organization focused on helping and advocating for the immigrant and refugee populations in Worcester, MA. They act as a referral agency in order to connect and mediate the interactions between immigrants and refugees and the services they need.

Goals and Objectives

Previously, the SNC did not have a comprehensive list of the resources available for immigrants and refugees in the Worcester area. The guide facilitates the center’s work as an intermediary service between providers and the immigrants and refugees. The goal of our project was to develop a Resource Guide that assists trained volunteers at the SNC in serving local immigrants and refugees

Our objectives towards the completion of this goal were

1. Understand the challenges and needs of immigrants and refugees recently arrived in Worcester
2. Collect a catalog of resources locally available and relevant to the foreign born population
3. Determine the criteria for the Resource Guide and create the guide using the information previously gathered

Final Report