Supporting Immigrants and Refugees: Lessons from a Trauma-Informed Approach

Supporting Immigrants and Refugees: Lessons from a Trauma-Informed Approach

The Denver Public Library has been providing services to immigrants and refugees through the Plaza program, a low-barrier, intergenerational program space for individuals and families to access English language acquisition support, legal help, resource connection, and community building for over ten years. The program has recently expanded the supportive services component with the addition of social work support. Over these many years of service, several important lessons have been learned about how to best engage and support immigrants and refugees through fostering community connection, building social capital, and navigation of supportive services from a trauma-informed perspective.