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World Relief Triad Receives Grant From Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust for Community Health Empowerment Project

August 10, 2021

CONTACT:
Audrey Garden
audrey.garden@pinkston.co
(571) 405-1606

HIGHPOINT, N.C. – World Relief Triad is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. With this grant, World Relief Triad will fund the Newcomer Collaborative Health Fellowship Project to create systemic change in healthcare in the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina.

“The goal of World Relief Triad’s Newcomer Collaborative Health Fellowship Project is to improve community health by working with both current refugee communities and existing healthcare provider networks to address the barriers and challenges newcomers may experience while navigating the healthcare system,” said Jarrell Johnson, World Relief Triad Health and Wellness Community Empowerment Coordinator.

The Newcomer Collaborative Health Fellowship Project will work to elevate and empower refugee and immigrant voices throughout the project. The project will hire five ambassadors to represent their respective communities and build relationships with World Relief Triad’s current network of providers. The ambassadors will also disseminate surveys to the refugee community, conduct interviews, and create material for education on topics like sensitivity training and how to navigate cultural, religious and linguistic barriers in the healthcare system. 

Eight percent of North Carolina residents are immigrants, while another seven percent are native-born U.S. citizens with at least one immigrant parent. Refugees and other immigrants endure profound physical and psychological trauma after leaving home to flee violence and persecution. The World Relief Triad Health and Wellness staff and volunteers help refugee clients navigate the often difficult and confusing medical system as well as work to empower clients to become self-sufficient in managing their own health care.

Research shows that ​immigrant families often fear interactions with public agencies and go without needed health care and social services. The Newcomer Collaborative Health Fellowship Program will improve the health outcomes of local refugees by equipping healthcare providers to better engage refugees and by guiding refugees to better interact with healthcare providers.

“The Newcomer Collaborative Health Fellowship Project will establish an important bridge between medical and insurance providers and the refugee community, making sure that our systems are responsive to their needs and that refugees don’t fall through the cracks. Our community health ambassadors will help uplift and amplify the voices of leaders from within refugee communities to begin to address health disparities,” said Rob Cassell, World Relief Triad Executive Director.

For more information, please contact Jarrell Johnson at jjohnson@wr.org or visit https://worldrelief.org/triad/our-work/health-wellness/.

To download a PDF version of this press release, click here.

About World Relief

World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization that brings sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest problems – disasters, extreme poverty, violence, oppression, and mass displacement. For over 75 years, World Relief has partnered with churches and community leaders in the U.S. and abroad to bring hope, healing, and transformation to the most vulnerable. For 30 years, World Relief has welcomed refugees and immigrants to the Triad, starting in High Point and later expanding work into Winston-Salem.

About Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust 

The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust was established in 1947 and is now one of the largest private trusts in North Carolina. Our mission is to improve the health and quality of life of financially-disadvantaged residents in North Carolina. The Health Improvement in North Carolina program area supports community-wide health solutions across the state. The Local Impact in Forsyth County programs area fosters equitable and sustainable solutions to improve the quality of life in Forsyth County. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., serves as a sole trustee.

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