Across the Commonwealth, immigrant and non-immigrant families experiencing homelessness are being sheltered in hotels. These sites often have very little services and support due to severe strain on the Emergency Assistance shelter system. Cities and towns have been asked to step up and support these families, a large portion of whom are recently-arrived Haitians. As trusted resources in our communities, public and school librarians may find themselves being asked to help but may not know where to start.

In this webinar, Katelyn Duncan, New Americans Librarian from Worcester Public Library, will speak about the work of the Worcester Haitian Task Force, which has been meeting for almost a year; about WPL’s hugely successful Free Immigration Legal Consultations in partnership with local non-profits and the private bar; and about steps libraries of any size can take to support new residents and overcome cultural, language and logistical barriers to assist these vulnerable families.

This webinar will:

• Provide library staff with background to understand how families are arriving in their communities and the challenges they face
• Give information that can be used to dispel misconceptions and combat anti-immigrant sentiment in your communities
• Offer concrete examples of how libraries can support with collections, outreach, and programming recommendations

How will I be participating? 

During this virtual webinar, participants are encouraged to engage with peers and presenters at their own comfort level by participating in chats and polls. Participants will not be visible on camera, and microphones will not be used.

LOCATION:

This webinar will be held virtually via Zoom. A login link will be emailed out to all registrants 24 before the start of the program. If you do not receive the email, please check your spam folder as the reminder email is automated and can sometimes be filtered out. If you do not find the email, please contact info@masslibsystem.org to request a link.