The city of Aurora will expand the reach of its award-winning Natural Helpers program through a grant from a donor-advised fund managed by The Denver Foundation, reaching a larger number of immigrants and refugees with training on how to better connect their communities with available services and resources.
The $90,000 grant also funds the continuation of community outreach efforts for the city’s Office of International and Immigrant Affairs as it nears the end of its first five-year strategic plan and looks forward to evaluating how best to reach local immigrants and refugees and integrate them into the Aurora community.
The Natural Helpers program was brought to Aurora by the Office of International and Immigrant Affairs in 2016 to identify, train and empower local immigrants and refugees who understand the challenges of moving to a different place, learning a new language and establishing a home in the U.S. They are then able to connect immigrants and refugees in their own communities with resources and opportunities to better integrate into the city. It has been administered jointly by the city and the Village Exchange Center, a nonprofit organization at 1609 Havana St. dedicated to serving immigrants and refugees in the Aurora/Denver area, and more than 150 people from 25 countries have been trained in the past three years.
From the Denver Foundation grant, $30,000 will go toward continuing Natural Helpers at the Village Exchange Center with a focus on immigrants and refugees from around the world, and $30,000 will go toward expanding the program through Aurora Community Connection, 9801 E. Colfax Ave., with a focus on Hispanic and Latino communities.
“The Aurora Community Connection family resource center is excited to have the opportunity to support and grow the Natural Helpers program,” said Executive Director Dr. Robin Waterman.
Between Aurora Community Connection and the Village Exchange Center, the goal is for the expanded Natural Helpers program to train another 120 people in the next year.
“The Village Exchange Center is excited to see our collaboration with the Office of International and Immigration Affairs on the Natural Helpers program expand to further impact the diverse Aurora community,” said Executive Director Amanda Blaurock. “We deeply appreciate the support from The Denver Foundation.”
The remaining $30,000 from the grant will help the Aurora Office of International and Immigrant Affairs establish its next five-year strategic plan for 2020 to 2025 by using surveys and focus groups to identify and refine the needs of Aurora’s immigrant and refugee communities. One in five Aurora residents was born outside the United States.
“In just a few short years, the Office of International and Immigrant Affairs has made great strides in engaging our local immigrant and refugee communities,” said Ricardo Gambetta, manager of the Aurora Office of International and Immigrant Affairs. “We are thankful for this grant that will make the impact even that much greater.”