412 Futures, formerly known as the Refugee Youth Employment Program, helps refugee and immigrant high school students in Allegheny County navigate and plan for life after graduation. The challenges that high school students already face are often compounded by language and cultural barriers for immigrant students. JFCS works with ARYSE, Casa San Jose, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh Public Schools, and the Baldwin-Whitehall School District to connect students to the 412 Futures program.
Navigating High School as an Immigrant
Career Consultant AJ Arnett says, “In many cases, they are adjusting to learning a new language, attending a new type of schooling in some cases, and adjusting to a broader cultural landscape that is very different than the ones they grew up in.” All of those elements add to the existing challenges that high schoolers face on a regular basis.
412 Futures helps immigrant students through these challenges by giving them the tools and knowledge to navigate through some of these problems and processes. The program hosts workshops, educating them about topics like possible career paths, higher education, resume building, and more. The students also go on visits to higher education institutions like the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Triangle Tech, and some employers in the area.
Planning for the Future
For some of these students, exploring different career paths can be really helpful for them in planning for their futures. “A lot of students come into our program really honing in on a few key job areas, like being a teacher, being a nurse, being a doctor,” AJ explained. “We spend a lot of time expanding all of those possibilities.” In addition to educating these students about new career paths and higher education options, they also bring in diverse speakers who themselves were immigrants and refugees, showing the students what is possible for their own futures.
Supporting Parents
The program also provides support for parents, who are facing their own unique challenges as refugees and immigrants. Career Consultant Bishnu Timsina does outreach to parents for 412 Futures. For many of these families, the children have taken on the role of helping the parents with mail, calling service providers, and more because of the language barriers.
“Some of the supports that we provide are making parents aware of the services we have available in this country for students and how to find resources for their child,” Bishnu explained. “We build relationships so parents will seek our help for support… We also help them understand their child’s transition from high school to postsecondary school.” 412 Futures also helps parents with financial literacy and understanding their options for how to pay for higher education, including helping families fill out the FAFSA.
By giving refugee and immigrant students–and their families–they tools they need to succeed after high school, 412 Futures aims to help these students create and achieve their visions for the future.