Integration for peace: tool for facilitating the integration of new migrants and their receiving communities

Abstract

Social and Cultural integration of new migrants in the United States has been relatively successful in the last couple of decades, but typically only focuses on regular forms of immigration. For undocumented or irregular migrants, integration becomes more difficult as they have less access to such programs due to fear of detection or lack of adequate information. Smooth and effective integration into a foreign environment plays an immense role in improving a new immigrant’s ability to succeed in their new environment, as well as promotes the social and psychological wellness of the individual, their families and their receiving communities facilitating empathy and a culture of peace. This project will incorporate and utilize already existing programs and tools and supplementary tools created to be available for and accessible to all new immigrants and their receiving communities. It will not only assess, measure and address success through language proficiency, socioeconomic attainment, political participation, living situation, and interaction with their respective communities, but also through overall wellness/happiness, using the subjective happiness and the psychological well-being scales. To do so, an online tool will be created and used in two pilot Washington D.C. public schools. The results from these pilot schools will lead to further expansion on a states and eventually national level.