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When she arrived in Salt Lake City from Africa in 2000, Congolese refugee and single mother Antoinette Uwanyiugira faced the overwhelming task of learning a new language and finding a way to support herself and her seven children.

Uwanyiugira held a series of jobs, some of them at the same time — dishwasher, grocery store clerk and cab driver among them — while she studied English. When she arrived, she didn't know anyone who spoke her native language.

"I worked and worked and worked," said Uwanyiugira, who now is a community resource specialist in the state's Refugee Services Office. "At that time, it was so difficult."

For any refugee, settling in the United States after fleeing a war-torn homeland is hard. For women from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the transition can be even harder, according to a recent study by the Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (IDVSA) at the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin.

The study — which cites a Utah program as a model for helping refugees— says that before arriving in the United States, women from the Congo experienced significant trauma, including sexual violence and the loss of loved ones, in the DCR's civil war. And because of "pre-existing vulnerabilities" stemming from those experiences, the women need trauma-related services and social support, along with the standard efforts to get them employed and economically self-sufficient, according to the study.

In addition, it says, the women need more time and longer term support until they can be expected to provide for their families on just one income.

"Vulnerabilities left unaddressed or untreated will have reverberating effects on women's well-being as well as their children's, despite the prevailing perception that refugees, and women in parvticular, demonstrate resilience and strength in adapting to life in the U.S.," study says.

The researchers are recommending services geared to the women's particular needs.the

"The Continuity of Risk: A three-city study of women-at-risk resettled in the U.S.," is based on interviews with resettlement service providers and Congolese female refugees in Salt Lake City; San Antonio, Texas; and Lexington, Ky. Nearly all of the participating refugees had children and most were single heads of household.

All of the refugees interviewed for the study were resettled as "women at risk," a category created to prioritize the processing of particularly vulnerable female refugees who could not return to their home country.

In nearly two decades of civil war in the DCR, hundreds of thousands of women and children have been assaulted and tortured, according to the study's authors.

The study was prompted by plans by the United States to resettle approximately 50,000 refugees from the DRC between 2014 and 2019. About 500 Congolese refugees already live in the Salt Lake Valley.

The study found the Congolese women felt lonely and socially isolated, experienced a loss of power as mothers, and faced serious challenges paying for basic expenses as single parents. They felt an overall sense of physical safety in the United States, but expressed the need for companionship and assistance with child care.

Among the study recommendations are the development of training materials for service providers that focus on the specific challenges of Congolese refugees; the establishment of collaborative programming between resettlement agencies and domestic violence and sexual assault organizations; and the creation of guidelines for service providers who work with families affected by conflict-related sexual violence, particularly with regard to the children born as a result.

In addition, the study says the women would benefit from longer-term financial support and access to English language classes, as well as culturally relevant mental health screening and services. It recommends developing comprehensive programming for Congolese women by looking at promising practices in resettlement cities — including Salt Lake City, where "the state-funded program for single parents in Utah is an interesting model worthy of further study."

The State Refugee Coordinator's office in Salt Lake City has developed a number of special initiatives for single mothers and their families from all parts of the world through funding for refugees and coordination with other public services, according to the study. All single-parent refugee households are eligible for up to two years of case management services that offer ongoing social support and guidance.

For 100 families, a housing program subsidizes their rent for up to three years, and a refugee employment program provides up to one year of English language and job training. The language classes meet the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) work requirements, which allows refugees to continue to study English even after the first year.

State Refugee Coordinator Gerald Brown, the director of the Refugee Services Office, said Utah provides a lot of help to refugees, thanks to the support of the governor and state Legislature. He also praised the Department of Workforce Services for having the vision to invest in the community by helping refugees.

In addition, the refugees are helping each other in support groups, Brown said.

IDVSA researcher Karin Wachter said the program appears to be working because of good coordination among service providers, Brown's strong leadership and community involvement. Also helping is the fact that refugees in Utah are resettled in one place — the Salt Lake City area — which makes it easier to provide services, she said.

The state program did not exist when Uwanyiugira arrived 14 years ago as part of the first group of Congolese refugees resettled in Salt Lake City. She struggled to find health care and mental health services for her family and was required to get a job six months after her arrival.

"Now they can get help," Uwanyiugira said of the new arrivals. "I wish when I came we had these services."

In her job as a community resource specialist, Uwanyiugira helps refugees get the help they need and arranges workshops on topics such as domestic violence. She encourages the women to learn English so they can support their families and to become citizens when they're eligible.

Despite the difficulties, she tells them, they can succeed in their new home by working hard.

"I give them an example," Uwanyiugira said. "When the mom is strong, the family is strong."

Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC Research on refugee needs

A study by the Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault at the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin says Congolese women refugees who have settled in American cities, including Salt Lake City, need additional services to address the trauma and loss they suffered in their homeland. Researchers at the University of Texas and at the Department of Sociology & Social Work at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University collaborated on the study. It was partially funded by a $15,000 grant from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.