Savannah Jerman 
Editorial Intern

  Jewish Vocational Services (JVS), has been servicing immigrants and refugees from around the world, right here in the Northeast Community for over 75 years. From the Democratic Republic of Congo to El Salvador, they help refugees and immigrants of all ages with employment, citizenship readiness, and case to case management. Whether that is help with navigating a new country, education support, doctor appointments, and legal access. 

  “It’s a great asset to the kids and the parents both, because we can kind of help do things that a parent might not know how to do yet because they are too new to know how to do it. From complicated medical appointments all the way up to college. If you haven’t done it yourself as a parent, then you have trouble navigating with your kid,” said Katie Norman, the Communications Manager at JVS.  

  This support doesn’t just stop there. They have also had a youth social work program for over a decade. JVS works closely with the youth to give them extra support. For the youth they provide individual talk therapy, education support, such as tutoring and small groups, youth mentor/college access, and the unaccompanied minor program. 

  “We have a lot of community resource connections, I feel like we are a good kept secret of the Northeast. But we shouldn’t be a secret” said Meaghan Fanning, the Youth Program Manager at JVS. 

  The Youth Program doesn’t stop in summer just because school is out, they amp it up. JVS provides a summer enrichment program for all of the youth and then a small microenterprise group. In the summer enrichment program they take weekly field trips and keep a balance of fun and education.

“We take students who are newer to Kansas City to areas they have never been to and wouldn’t naturally go to,” said Fanning. These trips include locations such as Worlds of Fun, a tour at Rockhurst University, or a picnic at a park outside of the Northeast Area. 

  Last summer, JVS started their youth microenterprise group. The youth groups work with the JVS Youth Team and attend 4 classes with various education elements to entrepreneurship, develop their own business plan, and then get their seed money to start business (such as buying supplies, etc.), and then showcase their work at the Culmination Career Day Event. 

  “Some of it [the businesses] is connected to a traumatic event they have had in the past…they have turned it into something positive for example, young people who have lost family or close friends, usually in an act of violence or in the migration journey where somebody died…they have processed it through therapy and then some of them have turned it around and created a business out of it,” said Fanning. 

  These businesses stem from things the youth are passionate about or the business is connected to an event in their lives. Some of the businesses the youth created in last year’s microenterprise group include hair styling, car detailing, and makeup. In this year’s group it includes lawncare, forever bouquets, tailoring, nails, and the list goes on. 

  “Something I think is really important about that is the hard skills they are learning…it is not easy to make a logo or promote yourself…so the fact they are getting a chance to do that right now is huge,” said Norman. 

  As JVS continues to expand its youth programming, staff hope more families in the Northeast community become aware of the resources available to them. From educational support and therapy to entrepreneurship opportunities, the organization aims to help immigrant and refugee youth build successful futures while feeling connected to their new community. 

  To learn more visit: https://jvskc.org/