IRCO Youth Outreach Team is Showing Up for Teens
Our longtime Community Partner, the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), supports community members to become self-sufficient and thrive through creative programming, outreach, and education that foster understanding, compassion, and communication. One of their many programs worth celebrating is the IRCO Youth Outreach team. This year, the IRCO Youth Outreach team turned an idea into a reality by offering a Life Skills Month, where teens from immigrant and refugee families learned a particular life skill each week. Life Skills Month grew out of intentionally listening to how kids want to change the trajectory of their lives and their interest in envisioning their own bright futures. For example, the first session allowed kids to meet with a career coach and take part in mock job interviews, all while dressing up in professional work attire. The teenage participants felt empowered and confident because they were supported by staff that has direct ties to their own communities and often are fluent in their native language. According to Ronnie Faavae, IRCO Pacific Islander Outreach Coordinator, “We’re here to amplify their voices and what they can do.”