Radio Sleepytime brings bedtime stories for Syria's bereft children

It’s now common for youth to remain in foster care or residential treatment for years. For troubled or victimized children in need, assistance at home is often more effective than foster placement.

In Prince George's County School system, two schools have offered international schools, which have a different curriculum for immigrants new to the USA. This has caused complaints and difficulties with the other students, the after school band program has helped bring the two groups together to socialize and form friendships.

LGBTQ asylum seekers face a unique set of problems coming to the United States, often from places where gender expression and sexuality are strictly regulated. Four organizations across the US, Mexico, and Canada are filling this unique niche. For example, AsylumConnect created an app of resources on how to apply for asylum and a catalogue of LGBTQ-friendly services and organizations in the US for them to learn about. All four aim to validate LGBTQ asylum seekers and keep them safe.

Based out of the city of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, a live radio show is tackling the stigma around mental health care by combining their platform with those in the mental health care field. Not only does the radio show discuss psychological issues on air, but it also offers free and reduced-cost mental health services to those that serve as guests on the show.

Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee created a special show for displaced Syrian children conducted entirely in Arabic. The show teaches children lessons like counting and the alphabet, but it also teaches them emotional coping skills, which is very important for refugee children. The show is accompanied by trained early childhood development facilitators who visit homes and interact with the children playing games or reading books.

To help address burnout for child welfare workers in Knox County, Ohio, Knox County Job & Family Services has launched a two-pronged approach that aims to offer wellbeing services to employees. Although the Covid pandemic impeded the rollout of these self-care services and resources, feedback has been positive.

Chess in Slums Africa uses chess to provide education and enrichment for marginalized children. The program typically lasts for about two weeks and consists of chess sessions, mental math, and discussions to get to know the children intimately. Then, some of the children are placed in shelters or reconnected with their families. The organization then pays scheduled visits to ensure the child’s needs are met. So far, the organization has helped 976 children across the state.

Street Priests Incorporated engages with youth living on the streets in Nigeria to offer them scholarship funding, food aid, reunification with their families, and more. The organization has helped more than 17,000 children through its programs since 2014.

School-based health centers provide free services including flu shots, physicals, contraceptive care and reproductive education, talk therapy and behavioral health care to students. Research has found that these school-based clinics boost vaccination rates, reduce hospital visits, lower rates of teen pregnancy and depression and improve grades and attendance levels, all while reducing disparities and making healthcare more accessible.

To increase awareness of cervical cancer and the cancer-preventing HPV vaccine, Al-Ansar radio shares information about the disease, the vaccine and works to dispel speculation and misinformation about vaccines in general to those in underserved and hard-to-reach areas, as they’re often hardest to get vaccinated.