Class
Article
College
Caine College of the Arts
Faculty Mentor
Susan Tibbitts
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
A refugee is someone who, is outside the country of his or her nationality and is unable to or, owing to fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country (Cultural Orientation Resource Center CORC, 2017). Today, 60,000 of these refugees live in Utah; over half of these are women and children. Utah welcomes somewhere between 30 - 50 new refugees each month from countries around the world. These refugees are put into low-income housing that is small and overpriced for these large families who are working minimum wage jobs. Most of these low-income apartments don’t have parks or places for children to safely play. (Cindy Newell, 2017). Researching current refugee housing and interviewing caseworkers, revealed many of the needs that the refugee population in Salt Lake City face. The following is a proposed solution to address these problems: First, these families need sustainable, comfortable, clean, reliable, and affordable housing where they can feel at home and find comfort in having their own home. We will be exploring the idea of creating a safe haven community for these refugees. These homes will surround a larger living-learning community that includes a career center with a makerspace and day care; a market; a community center with a gym and community kitchen; a library with study areas and computer rooms; a health clinic with counseling services; a large turf soccer field, playground, and sports facility. A large community garden will connect each of the buildings together and provide an area for families to grow their own produce. This community will help reduce the stress these new families face entering the United States for the first time, and will provide a place that they can feel comfortable and secure. Having a place they can call home inside a close-knit community will allow them to learn and gain necessary skills in a safe mentoring environment and provide them with the resources to become thriving U.S. citizens.
Location
The South Atrium
Start Date
4-12-2018 9:00 AM
End Date
4-12-2018 10:15 AM
A Refugee Housing Research Project Proposal for Salt Lake City, Utah
The South Atrium
A refugee is someone who, is outside the country of his or her nationality and is unable to or, owing to fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country (Cultural Orientation Resource Center CORC, 2017). Today, 60,000 of these refugees live in Utah; over half of these are women and children. Utah welcomes somewhere between 30 - 50 new refugees each month from countries around the world. These refugees are put into low-income housing that is small and overpriced for these large families who are working minimum wage jobs. Most of these low-income apartments don’t have parks or places for children to safely play. (Cindy Newell, 2017). Researching current refugee housing and interviewing caseworkers, revealed many of the needs that the refugee population in Salt Lake City face. The following is a proposed solution to address these problems: First, these families need sustainable, comfortable, clean, reliable, and affordable housing where they can feel at home and find comfort in having their own home. We will be exploring the idea of creating a safe haven community for these refugees. These homes will surround a larger living-learning community that includes a career center with a makerspace and day care; a market; a community center with a gym and community kitchen; a library with study areas and computer rooms; a health clinic with counseling services; a large turf soccer field, playground, and sports facility. A large community garden will connect each of the buildings together and provide an area for families to grow their own produce. This community will help reduce the stress these new families face entering the United States for the first time, and will provide a place that they can feel comfortable and secure. Having a place they can call home inside a close-knit community will allow them to learn and gain necessary skills in a safe mentoring environment and provide them with the resources to become thriving U.S. citizens.