Frequently Asked Quetions
What was the Community Integration Initiative?
This was a project funded by the Colorado Trust’s Supporting Immigrant & Refugee Families Initiative (SIRFI). A Steering Committee made up of local citizens managed grant monies that encouraged and benefited community integration activities in the Aspen to Parachute region. Family Visitor Programs was the Fiscal Agent.
What is the purpose of the Community Integration Initiative?
The purpose of the Initiative was to help both immigrants and long-term residents understand one another better and become more connected to their communities.
The primary goal was to work alongside our neighbors to insure that the Aspen to Parachute community is a welcoming place for everyone who comes here to live and work. We wanted to be a community that accepts people, helps to orient newcomers and provides an atmosphere of support for all people who are new to the community
What were the goals of the Initiative?
Through its various projects, the Initiative was focusing its efforts on four main goals:
- Building of relationships between immigrant and receiving communities;
- Increasing the awareness and appreciation between Immigrant and Receiving communities regarding each other’s culture;
- Increasing immigrant’s access to information and orientation regarding the communities in which they live and work;
- Helping in the development and promotion of leaders in all cultural communities.
What is Immigrant Integration?
Immigrant integration refers to a two-way process, in which members of immigrant and receiving communities work together to create a more cohesive community.
What did the Initiative do?
To fulfill the community goals, the Community Integration Initiative both carried out and supported a variety of activities that help all residents contribute to and fully participate in their communities.
Through an extensive community interview process, immigrant and established residents identified ways to strengthen community integration in the Aspen to Parachute communities. Community goals were then compiled based on the suggestions of over 1,000 community members. Click here for a full version of the document.
Through Initiative grants, the Community Integration Initiative funded various projects throughout 2006:
These include grants to CASE, Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club, Even Start Family Literacy, English in Action, Access Roaring Fork and Colorado West Regional Mental Health.
The focus of the Community Integration Initiative was Communication.
2007-2009 activities included:
Mini Grants – the Initiative provides small grants to fund projects that will achieve the Initiative’s goals of Communication. The purpose of the mini-grants is to encourage activities and/or events that bring together the receiving and immigrant communities.
Community meetings and trainings - these included networking meetings, educational sessions with guest speakers, facilitated large group discussions or informal get-togethers. The Initiative held orientation workshops for newcomers which provided practical information on various topics. The Initiative provided cultural proficiency trainings, as well as the logistics for the West African Support Team.
Information Kiosks used to display information that could be accessed by all newcomers in the Aspen to Parachute communities.
Updating Living in the Aspen to Parachute Region – an educational guide developed to provide newcomers with information and resources regarding general laws, social, medical and environmental expectations while residing in the region.
Community Grants - CASE (Congregations and Schools Empowered) – a community organizing project that brings together immigrant and receiving communities to work together on solving social issues. The project develops leadership skills among members. The Initiative provides CASE with some funding.
Immigrant Stories - this is an oral history project that is gathering the recollections of immigrants and their families from Aspen to Parachute. Community members will tell their immigrant stories through a partnership with radio station KDNK.
Food for Thought - in this short series of three films immigrant and receiving community families participate in rich discussions as they prepare and share a multicultural meal.
Who was involved with the Community Integration Initiative?
The Community Integration Initiative was open to everyone in the community. The Steering Committee was comprised of community members who also work in health and human services agencies, city and county governments, foundations, schools and religious organizations, and serve in other community roles. The Steering Committee will be meeting quarterly in 2010. If you are interested in participation, please call Hanya Gottardo at 970-319-1677.
Whom did CII serve?
The Initiative serves both the immigrant and established communities, as the above examples illustrate.