Meeting the needs of African refugee youth in Metro Vancouver

Although there is an identified need among African refugee youth for programs that can improve their social and economic settlement outcomes, evidence suggests extremely low levels of participation among African refugee youth in programs designed for young people. The proposed collaborative research seeks to provide an overview of existing programs, explore the extent and nature of African refugee youths’ participation in those programs, identify barriers inhibiting their participation, and generate program and policy recommendations that can improve their access and enhance service provision and settlement outcomes. The key research questions concern what services and programs are needed, and how they can be better coordinated so as to most effectively meet the needs and concerns of African refugee youth. A final report which incorporates recommendation generated in a community forum will be compiled and made available to youth, parents, service providers and policy makers.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Miu Chung Yan

Student:

Jenny Francis

Partner:

Centre of Integration for African Immigrants

Discipline:

Geography / Geology / Earth science

Sector:

University:

University of British Columbia

Program: