The City of El Cajon, California is home to the second-largest Iraqi immigrant population in the United States. New refugees come to San Diego County anxious to work hard for a better life but many of them must depend on government assistance when they first arrive in the US. New refugees to the United States are granted federal protection after fleeing persecution in their homelands. All are overcoming personal challenges and are given welfare benefits from the Welfare-to-Work program for a short time in return for taking work-preparation classes. These required work-preparation classes are typically English Language Learning (ELL) courses. Many refugees already know English and are wasting their time and taking up limited space in ELL classes in order to meet the Welfare-to-Work requirements.

Library staff realized that if the refugees could receive welfare credit for studying for their recertification exams, it would relieve pressure on the ELL classes while also giving the professional students more time for studying. SDCL brought the idea to the agencies that oversee the Welfare-to-Work program and established a system to register and track the students’ time. The library staff tracks the students’ time, transfers the information to the verification forms, and delivers these documents to the necessary agencies each month. This program contributes to the local economy by helping Iraqi immigrants find meaningful employment and succeed in America.

SDCL identified an opportunity to engineer a win-win situation and bridge an important gap. PGS has given more than 140 physicians, engineers, architects, dentists, veterinarians, and other professionals an opportunity to exchange class time for time spent in the library, studying and working toward U.S. licensing exams. The participants benefit from the opportunity and it provides additional seats in ELL classes for refugees in need. Several participants have recently earned their U.S. engineering licenses. Even though professionals with refugee status are generally at the bottom of the list for medical residency admissions, four PGS participants have recently been admitted to medical residency programs in the U.S. Graduates of the program better their own lives and improve the community as a whole through their chosen professions.