03 Jun
by Derrick Vander Waal
SIOUX CENTER – Iowa communities are experiencing rapid ethnic and language changes.
SIOUX CENTER – Iowa communities are experiencing rapid ethnic and language changes.
Sioux Center and the communities of northwest Iowa are no different.
Dr. Mark Grey, director of the Iowa Center for Immigrant Leadership and Integration at the University of Northern Iowa, will explore that topic in a seminar that is open and free to the public. Promise Community Health Center in Sioux Center is sponsoring the event.
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| Dr. Mark Gray |
His presentation, “New and Diverse Populations: Challenges and Opportunities for Iowa Communities,” will be 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, in Room 1606 of the Science and Technology Center at Dordt College in Sioux Center. People are encouraged to enter the building through the new south doors of the expanded building.
Grey said the presentation will explore the ethnic and linguistic changes that have happened in several Iowa communities, including the Sioux Center area, and provide an overview on how communities are responding to meet the challenges and embrace the opportunities associated with the newcomer populations.
“There is often a sense in rural communities that they are the only communities experiencing the challenges associated with rapidly diversifying populations,” Grey said. “This presentation will assure residents and community leaders that many others across Iowa are experiencing the same population changes.”
Mike Inman, behavioral health consultant at Promise and one of the organizers of the event, said the session will explore questions such as:
- How are the populations in Iowa changing?
- What can we learn about immigrant and refugee populations?
- What is the role of newcomers in the vitality and growth of the community?
- How do we communicate and build understanding?
- How do we welcome newcomers?
He noted that a major part of Promise’s mission is to adapt to the needs of the community, including providing accessible care for immigration populations.
Therefore, the health center was motivated to put on the seminar and share it with the community.
Therefore, the health center was motivated to put on the seminar and share it with the community.
“This is a way to bridge the divide for greater understanding and better communication and compassion between the cultures,” Inman said.
He said Grey has done much research and is highly knowledgeable in the topic of diversifying populations.
“He’s a very accomplished, award-winning expert in this area,” Inman said. “Nationwide, he’s a leaders in that field, so it will be worth our time to hear him.”
Promise Community Health Center, headquartered in Sioux Center, is the only Federally Qualified Health Center in the far northwest corner of Iowa. To learn more, visit www.promisechc.org.
INTERESTING FACTS:
Mark Grey, director of the Iowa Center for Immigration Leadership and Integration, noted these interesting facts about the changing populations in Iowa communities:
- More than 180 languages now are spoken in Iowa;
- Many rural school districts enroll students speaking in more than 25 languages;
- Some new languages in Iowa are rare languages that are spoken by just a few thousand people around the world. Therefore, it’s difficult to find interpreters for many of these languages.
AT A GLANCE:
Who: Dr. Mark Grey, director of the Iowa Center for Immigration Leadership and Integration at the University of Northern Iowa
What: Seminar on “New and Diverse Populations: Challenges and Opportunities for Iowa Communities”
When: 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, June 16
Where: Science and Technology Center, Room 1606, Dordt College, Sioux Center
Cost: Free