Somali Bantu Association of America

The Somali Bantu associa?on of America (sbaoa) is a nonprofit organiza?on created in 2009 as a resource for refugee families seeking to adjust to their new lives in the united states; the Somali Bantu Association of America (sbaoa) educates, serves, and organizes cultural and life-skill training programs in an effort to promote self-sufficiency among the individuals and families comprising not only the Somali Bantu community but all east african refugees in and around city heights including somalis, congolese, burundian, ugandan, sudanese and other immigrants. Our clients include men and women,children, and seniors, and our services are free. Last year, we served over 6,000 refugees in our community. Sbaoa has provided a variety of services to disadvantaged and underserved asylees, refugees, and immigrants in the san diego area, including assistance with translation, esl, citizenship support, employment, housing, health and sanitation, and parent and populations, youth populations for 11 years, sbaoa has provided case management services to these populations in san diego, assisted eligible beneficiaries in iden?fying and applying for state benefits,support in accessing and navigating the public benefits and health care systems by providing translation support and accompanying them to appointments. Sbaoa partnerswith the office of refugee resetlement for the individual development accounts (ida)program helps refugees and other orr-eligible populations save toward an asset that will help increase financial independence. The program helps refugees understand what assets are, how the u.s. financial system works, and how to manage their money. As of 8/2/2023 we have served 176 clients within the ida program. Sbaoa partners with the office of refugee resetlement for the refugee family child care microenterprise development (rfccmed) otherwise called wedream program helps recently arrived refugees and other orr eligible populations start and run family childcare businesses in their homes to earn income that allows them to live independently. Many refugees come to the u.s. with experience caring for small children. They may also have young children of their own to care for, which makes it difficult for them to work outside of their homes. The rfccmed program helps these refugees to use their childcare skills to earn an income. These businesses may also help generate jobs for other refugees. As of 8/2/2023 we have served 170 clients within the rfccmed/wedream program. Sbaoa partners with the office of refugee resetlement for the community, language, economic, and resource programming affec?ng the home (clear path) for recently resetled afghan citizens and nationals (clearpath) program hosts orienta?on workshops legal workshops,know your rights workshops, fathers support groups, mothers support groups, home visits,tea and talks, service provider workshops, and community volunteers. As of 8/2/2023 we have served 319 clients within the clearpath program. Sbaoa partners with the California department of social services youth mentorship program the projects goal is to support the integration of refugee youth; the objective is to provide youth the opportunity to identify and prioritize goals that will support their integraion while also developing positive and meaningful relationships with empathetic and culturally responsive mentors. As of 8/2/2023 we have served 96 youth clients within the youth mentorship program. Sbaoa partners with the California department of social services stop the hate (sth) program to provide support and services to victims and survivors of hate incidents and hate crimes and their families and facilitate hate incident or hate crime preven?on measures. As of 8/2/2023 we have served 120 clients within the sth program. Sbaoa partners with the California department of social services the enhanced services for asylees and vulnerable noncitizens (esavn) program provides state level outreach and resetlement case management services for persons who are currently residing in California and are granted asylum by the united states (u.s.) atorney general or the u.s. secretary of homeland security, or who are eligible for assistance and services as members of vulnerable populations under the trafficking and crime victim assistance program (tcvap). As of 8/2/2023 we have served 220 clients within the esavn program. Sbaoa partners with the u.s. commitee for refugee and immigrants ci?zenship and integration program the main goal of the program has generally been to provide citizenship instruction and applica?on assistance to lprs. As of 8/2/2023 we have served 60 clients within the ci?zenship program. Sbaoa partners with the jacobs & cushman san diego food bank for the sbaoa weekly food pantry. Every friday at 4979 university ave san diego, ca 92105 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm the main goal is to provide fruits, vegetables, various food items, and hygiene products to those in need. As of 8/2/2023 we have served 15,000 clients within the food bank program. As a small grass-root organization we are looking to make a huge change in our community. We will continue to advocate for change and help those in need.