The significant growth of the resettled refugee community in recent years has brought about the growth of The Spero Project as a team and an organization. In a moment in history that our new neighbors needed the OKC community to mobilize immediately and to grow and adapt more quickly than ever before, it has been an incredible honor to do so on behalf of our neighbors. And we continue to be moved by hope by our partners along the way. You have generously believed in the wonder of welcome through so many seasons. It is because of each of you that Spero can be what our neighbors need at this crucial time. We cannot adequately express what a joy it is to partner with you in making Oklahoma City a city of belonging!
Brad & Kim Bandy
The Spero Project Team
A CITY OF BELONGING
As Spero welcomes new neighbors to Oklahoma City, we hope to be a place of belonging. Belonging is more than just residency or living in a place: belonging as a practice of relationship. In this practice, we learn and grow together, rejoice and grieve together, and hold space to bear witness to each other’s life.
For Spero this starts by offering place-based programming and classes, providing translation and transportation services as needed, and a staff with a wide-range of skills, experiences, and backgrounds who do incredible work of welcome. Much of Spero’s programming and work is shaped and determined by the voices of new neighbors and the resettled communities - which you see here through mental health groups, dual-language citizenship classes, and youth mentoring, all programs and spaces either created because of neighbors’ requests or led out by neighbors’ voices. And, at the heart of Spero’s work is the practice of true belonging through relational care – a practice giving and receiving.
We know belonging is dynamic - it requires the participation of many people to exist. So while we are grateful to be a part of welcome in Oklahoma City, we are also just as grateful for the ways neighbors teach us about welcome in their homes, communities, and lives. Our practices of belonging and welcome are very much modeled after and extension of what we learn from the resettled community.
We are learning that belonging asks: “Who am I? Who are you? Who are we together?”
Together, we are a city of belonging!
Thank you for choosing to welcome new neighbors and make Oklahoma City a place of belonging!
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Community Support includes employment support, medical resourcing, and helping new neighbors navigate day-to-day life in Oklahoma city. As a practice of belonging, Community Support holds space for neighbors to ask questions and find the right resources and care through trusted staff.
2023 was a substantial year for the Afghan Refugee Health Promotion program, a new program to the state implemented by the Spero team. This program is designed specifically for new Afghan neighbors. Through this program, neighbors could enroll in health classes related to specific needs such as prenatal care, receive additional support navigating Oklahoma medical systems, and participate in social and mental health adjustment groups – all with appropriate translation services, childcare, and led by trained professionals.
Adjustment Classes is programming that addresses specific social and cultural adjustments to life in the US through trauma-informed and culturally-informed care. These classes have included mental health adjustment groups offered by licensed professionals, youth mentoring services, and social and work adjustment groups to prepare for life in the US. As a practice of belonging, adjustment classes offer additional support for neighbors navigating Oklahoma City and finding spaces of community and care.
CLASSROOM ENGAGEMENT & STUDENT SUPPORT
Classroom Engagement includes classes in English language, citizenship, Pashto and Burmese literacy, work readiness, health education, pregnancy support, after school student support, and more! As a practice of belonging, Classroom Engagement holds consistent spaces for relationships and learning together.
In 2023, Spero added our first dual-language citizenship class in Burmese! This looked like neighbors being able to learn content through their first language alongside English as they prepared for the US citizenship exam and process. Many neighbors felt more comfortable and confident in the citizenship process due to this class– so far ten neighbors have become US citizens this year!
Student programming includes a variety of focused activities including after-school programs, educational summer programs, mentoring programs, and dance and art programs! Spero is committed to partnering well with parents and schools in these programs to see students thrive throughout their education.
In 2023, Spero began the Afghan Youth Mentoring Program for students 16-24 to develop academic, social, cultural, and employment goals and skills. Students met with mentors in groups to pursue self-selected goals, build community, and develop skills for navigating life in the US. We had 83 students participate with 18 mentors this year!
Place Based Programming
Place-based programming that is responsive to the input of neighbors encourages many points of engagement for each individual and family. Unique supports for neighbors are designed within the ecosystem of the whole community and Spero organization, meaning programs partner with and reinforce the other programs a neighbor may participate in. Below you will see an example of how our place-based programming might play out with an example family part of the Spero community this year. We believe the bridges between the programs are as important as the program itself!
A Look Ahead
We are excited to share that as of this fall, Spero is now a Reception and Placement program site, operating as an affiliate of Church World Service! Between November 2023 and September 2024, Oklahoma City will welcome an additional 100 new neighbors as Spero offers pre-arrival and first-90 day services.
What does this mean?
Reception and Placement (or R&P) providers support new neighbors in pre-arrival, arrival to Oklahoma, and their first 90 days after arrival. These supports include securing an apartment, airport pickup and initial meals, medical screenings and immunizations, cultural orientation, school and job placement, and other social services needed in the first 90 days.
How does this change Spero’s work?
Historically, Spero has provided programming and supports that begin at the post-90 day arrival mark for neighbors or programming and supports that have supplemented R&P providers in Oklahoma City. Spero will continue to offer these same programming and supports - such as adjustment groups, classroom engagement, and community support to all neighbors regardless of resettlement agency- but will now also offer pre-arrival and first-90 day services for an additional 100 new neighbors coming to OKC in the coming year.
Why now?
Worldwide, over 110 million people are currently forcibly displaced from their homes, and due to limited “spots” offered by countries worldwide, less than half of one percent of all displaced people will ever be offered resettlement in a third country like the U.S. These limited “spots” means that individuals live in limbo for decades. As proposed “spots” for the US continue to increase, the only way to welcome new neighbors to the US is to create more local capacity. While 100 people feels small compared to 110 million people, our hope is to do all that is in our power for those living in limbo.
PARTNER With SPERO
Spero relies on private funding to continue programming and resources such as:
Student after-school and summer programming
Youth mentoring
School liaisons for in-school supports
Administrative support across programming
Additionally, Spero relies on private donations to build response funds. Response funds are utilized to support new neighbors not eligible for traditional resettlement services. Spero uses response funds to ensure that welcome is equitable for all new neighbors in Oklahoma City so that everyone has the opportunity to belong.