Salt Lake County faces refugee-housing crisis

by MATT BERGSTROM At the end of 2007, Salt Lake County Community Resources and Development commissioned a report on the housing situation for refugees within the county. The report, published in December 2007 by Wikstrom Economic and Planning Consultants Inc., revealed a dire situation. According to the report, Salt Lake is what is known as [...]

Diversity is complicated for refugees in Utah

by BRADY LEAVITT In a state that is 93 percent white, Gerald Brown represents diversity. Brown is white. He wears bow ties and peers through round-rimmed glasses. When asked if he speaks foreign languages, he says, “Only Southern.” When asked what his epitaph might read, he says, “A Holy Man.” And when asked if refugee [...]

Gerald Brown: Fighting for those who cannot fight back

by REED NELSON The man is happier than any man should rightfully be for a 7:30 a.m. meeting, but in his line of work, this is the least stressful part of his day. Donned in a bow tie, thick-rimmed glasses with Coke-bottle lenses, and topsiders, and for a man in his position, he looks the [...]

Refugee caseworkers work long hours in Salt Lake City

by MICHAEL OLSON Originally from Rwanda, Africa, Valentine Mukundente and her parents were relocated to Salt Lake City as refugees. Before they came to America, however, Mukundente and her family were sent to a refugee camp in Zambia where she spent her high school years. In Zambia, Mukundente worked as a translator for the United Nations [...]

SLC refugee agencies fight for time, money

by BRADY LEAVITT The flight attendant lifts the microphone to his lips and smiles. He announces that in an effort to cut costs the scheduled pilot has been laid off. Fortunately, a good-intentioned passenger has skimmed a copy of the pilot’s handbook and is volunteering to fly the plane. It is a metaphor used by [...]