MAKING A DIFFERENCE : One Aency’s Approach: Make Immigrants Feel at Home

Southern California’s influx of immigrants has created tensions on both sides. One small-scale, low-cost program has proven useful in easing stress and promoting acculturation. The program, Family to Family, has since 1989 matched more than 400 Russian-Jewish immigrant families with Jewish-American families in Los Angeles.

HOW FAMILY TO FAMILY WORKS:

RECRUITING

Jewish Family Services, an agency funded by the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles, goes to area synagogues, community centers and Jewish organizations to interest American Jewish families in becoming host families. The hosts agree to meet at least four times over six months with an immigrant family.

ORIENTATION

The Bureau of Jewish Education, another agency funded by the Jewish Federation, familiarizes prospective host families with Russian immigrant expectations and obstacles.

Host families are encouraged to discuss cultural practices without oversimplification or condescension. For example, they learn that there was little job mobility and relatively good job security in the Soviet Union, so some emigres mistakenly believe that the first job they accept in the United States will be their only job for years. Others do not understand that unannounced vacations and unexplained absences are not an accepted part of American work culture.

MATCHING

Host and immigrant families are matched based on ages of children, profession of parents, location of families and mutual interests. After matching, families make their own arrangements to meet.

FAMILY TO FAMILY PROVIDES:

Low-cost and low-key activities . Invitations by host families to share in events like a picnic, a trip to a public library or Sabbath and holiday celebrations alleviate the stress of limited financial resources or shyness about initiating social contacts.

A program for the entire family . Acculturation experts say Russian emigres prefer to participate in family activities because parents needn’t leave children at home or worry about the expense of child care. Parents say one unexpected benefit is the bond forged between host and emigre children.

English-language development. Poor English skills keep immigrants from employment opportunities. Within this program, families may practice English in a supportive social setting.

Cultural exchange. Emigres learn about American life--how to get credit cards, where to shop, how to navigate the city’s freeways. Host families’ stereotyped notions of emigres as a homogeneous group are challenged. For example, they learn Russian-Jewish emigres have significantly different levels of individual Jewish and Russian identity and awareness. For many host and emigre families, the program awakens or rekindles links to their Jewish heritage.

EVALUATIONS:

Perri Sloane

Specialist in the Human Service Department of the city of West Hollywood, home to Los Angeles County’s largest concentration of Russian-Jewish emigres.

‘People come here and that whole notion of the American dream has really been shattered, particularly with the way the economy is right now. It’s a really hard transition, and it’s a very hard life. A lot of people get here and find out that things are really quite difficult and maybe lose hope. Being exposed to an American family and having a chance to see that it is possible to have a good life gives them something to hope for.

Ned Miller

Host family

We want to participate because we want to help. We look back as we try to recreate what happened to us a century ago when our grandparents came over and had possibly a similar situation. They had no understanding of language and no one to help them and because of what they were able to accomplish, it sure made our life easier, so if we could make other peoples’ lives easier it’d be wonderful.

Edward Gershenzon

Emigre family.

Lori Miller taught my wife English, and when we needed advice we called them. Lori explained to my wife all kinds of jobs here in America, what kinds of jobs are easier to find and what should be done to find these jobs.

Ned taught me how to understand American football and even invited me several times to watch football games because we both are big fans. I liked soccer and other games, but he taught me how to love American football.

I found out that American Jews are the same kind of Jews as Russian Jews. The same problems, the same style of life, the same willingness to give our children the best education, the same view on the world.

Lori Miller

Host family

I’m a second-generation American and my grandparents came here from Russia without anybody’s help, and I know how difficult it was for them. They all are very proud people. To take them out to dinner and pay for them was difficult for them and so most of the time they come to our house for dinner.

We have been involved with a program with USC where we had foreign students come over to our house. People from Pakistan, we had a Japanese student stay with us for a while, we had a Dutch student stay with us so this is more of the same.