Advocacy Training Event
Author: Julianna Kantner | Majors: International & Global Studies and Political Science | Semester: Fall 2022
Julianna Kantner, a Toller Honors College Fellow and political science and international studies major from Shawnee, Kansas, conducted research on volunteer empowerment in refugee services. She was mentored by Dr. Jared Phillips in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences International Studies Program. This semester she spent time researching best practices for refugee resettlement volunteer programs, exploring the progress of refugee resettlement in Arkansas, conducting interviews with staff members and volunteers who worked alongside Canopy Northwest Arkansas Refugee Resettlement Agency, and continuing the Students with Refugees Advocacy Training Program. Throughout the spring 2023 semester, Julianna plans to synthesize what she learned from interviews into recommendations for the improvement of Canopy NWA’s volunteer and advocacy programs. She intends on using this experience to inform her future career providing legal services in support of refugee communities.
In the United States, refugee resettlement is highly dependent upon local support. Every resettlement agency nationwide is obligated to initially provide refugees arriving to the U.S. with several basic needs including housing, a couple days’ worth of groceries, transportation from the airport, and assistance with important documentation. Beyond that, resettlement agencies are integral in providing cultural integration services, educational programs for youth, and English language learning assistance. While the services resettlement agencies are responsible for are extensive, funding is limited, and staffing can be insufficient to meet every client need. This is where volunteers come in. Many resettlement agencies are dependent upon volunteers for furnishing homes, providing groceries, and supplementing client services. Most importantly, volunteers play a large role in providing the cultural integration components of resettlement. These essential contributions of volunteers in refugee resettlement sparked my interest in researching volunteer empowerment. My research mentor, Dr. Phillips, has been a fantastic resource for identifying topics to include in my research and ideas for organizations to connect with in identifying volunteer program development strategies.
Because volunteers are integral to client support in refugee resettlement, the relationship between an agency and their volunteers can greatly impact an agency’s success. While working as an intern at Canopy Northwest Arkansas, I observed the complexities of this relationship. Canopy Northwest Arkansas Refugee Resettlement Agency, founded in 2015, has resettled over 400 refugees from across the world. Canopy started as a small group of Northwest Arkansas residents reacting to the Syrian Refugee crisis. Five years later, as the volunteer coordinator intern, I worked with hundreds of volunteers who taught families how to use public transportation, enroll in school, and complete aspects of daily life in the U.S. What started as a small group of people with a shared interest grew into a flourishing nonprofit.
My experience with Canopy highlighted the immense value provided by a collaborative environment. A collective of advocates in Northwest Arkansas created a rapidly growing resettlement agency, cultivated political support from a previously anti-resettlement governor, and acquired enough financial assistance to run the smallest agency to stay open in the United States during the Trump Administration and pandemic. The collaborative environment between Canopy employees and volunteers massively changed the rhetoric and level of community support for refugees in Arkansas. Through the interviews I conducted with Canopy staff members and volunteers, I was able attribute this impact to a widespread and unified mission of compassionately advocating for resettlement. However, I also discovered that Canopy has great potential to strengthen their advocacy efforts through programing. To meet this need, I incorporated an Advocacy Training Program into the Students with Refugees registered student organization. As part of my thesis, I will be evaluating the success of this program in preparing students to comfortably advocate for refugee resettlement. Along the way, many students have been extremely helpful in providing feedback or even describing their experiences volunteering for Canopy NWA.
Despite the success Canopy has achieved, meeting client needs during rapid expansion is where the difficulties of a collaborative environment arose. Communication, clearly defined goals, and appreciation are all critical components for programs dependent upon volunteers. Unfortunately, these qualities are difficult to maintain. In the nonprofit world, overworked and underpaid staff dependent upon insufficient resources have overwhelming responsibilities. At Canopy these barriers were met by the pressures of operating a new organization with limited experience in resettlement. In refugee services, employee-volunteer collaboration is especially important. Without volunteers, clients would go without housing, groceries, cultural integration, and English learning services. Navigating strategies to maintain a functioning collaborative environment requires efficient operations and strategizing. The necessity for this collaboration inspired me to interview volunteers who had a negative experience with Canopy and those who had a positive one. Throughout the fall 2022 semester, I identified gaps within Canopy’s communication chain, program model, and volunteer appreciation strategies. These gaps will inform my proposed solutions for Canopy NWA as I continue my research in the spring.
This research experience has been essential to my understanding of volunteer management, refugee resettlement, and nonprofit organization. As a I pursue a career in public interest law, I will take this experience with me as a reminder of how best to engage the community and support refugee resettlement.