Project Summary:
Refugees in Wisconsin face health and legal barriers that delay care, worsen health outcomes, and destabilize families for generations. Of the 75,000 refugees who’ve resettled in Wisconsin, many arrive with untreated trauma, mental health conditions, and chronic illness. Legal precarity, exacerbated by poverty and family separation, compounds these health challenges. Research shows that gaining U.S. citizenship can resolve legal uncertainty and improve health outcomes for refugees. Yet for those with mental or cognitive impairments, citizenship is only possible through a complex medical exemption process. These exemptions are often out of reach due to underdiagnosis, language barriers, and mistrust of medical systems.
Over the past two years, the Community Center for Immigrants has piloted an innovative health initiative to help refugees with trauma-related illnesses access healthcare and obtain U.S. citizenship. It achieved remarkable success: 73% of participants received new health diagnoses, and 68% became US citizens. Despite this success, demand for health navigation in the refugee community continues to outpace capacity. To address inequities at scale, the proposed project will launch a community-led, train-the-trainer program for volunteer health navigators.
This program will prepare navigators to accompany refugees to appointments, support referrals, and reduce misinformation through culturally relevant advocacy. Guided by a community advisory board of refugees, clinicians, and legal experts, the initiative embeds refugee leadership into governance, fosters trust, and improves coordination between health and legal systems. The project team will ensure sustainability and scale by producing a standardized curriculum and publicly available toolkit for use across Wisconsin. In sum, this groundbreaking initiative aims to expand refugee access to healthcare and citizenship, advance health equity, and reduce strain on Wisconsin’s healthcare system.
Community Partners: Burmese Rohingya Community of Wisconsin, Aurora Family Medicine