Communities of Rooted Brilliance

Mission

Embracing traditional customs and values, Communities of Rooted Brilliance (CRB) provides newcomers with community-inspired educational opportunities and systems navigation that create pathways for self-determination as they weave into the fabric of their newfound home.

Description

Founded in 2009 by Executive Director Mona T. Han, CRB was established to provide immigrant and refugee communities with educational opportunities rooted in cultural values and traditions, creating paths to self-determination. We began by addressing service gaps experienced by refugees from Burma, who were navigating the traumas of resettlement—from jungle war zones or detention camps to vastly different urban environments in the United States. As our organization grew, it became clear that the need for these culturally centered support services extended beyond Burmese refugees. We expanded our mission to serve families from a wide range of countries. Today, we work primarily in South King County and Seattle, where many multi-ethnic neighborhoods are home to newcomer families.

CRB offers a range of programs that empower immigrant and refugee families to build strong, self-sufficient lives within their new communities. Our initiatives connect families to vital resources and equip them with the knowledge and skills to navigate essential systems on their own. Our primary areas of focus include early learning and youth development, which enable parents and their children to grow together and build resilience, as well as systems navigation for adults and families.

• Youth Education Program: Our youth education programming supports K-12 students in the Kent School District, Highline School District, Seattle Public Schools, and Federal Way School District. In our Education Program, we serve K-5 through enrichment activities in science, technology, reading, engineering, art expression, and math. For 6-12th grade, we provide behavioral/mental health services for students in the 4 middle and 4 high schools in South Seattle. We also facilitate the Refugee and Immigrant Youth Advisory Council, which empowers young people to use advocacy to address community challenges, drive systems change and shape our initiatives to reflect the community’s needs. 

• Early Learning Program: Our early learning program offers culturally and linguistically matched home visitors to families with young children, enhancing school readiness, child development, and parent-child bonds. Home visitors distribute learning toys and books monthly and model early learning activities to encourage child development. Additionally, the program includes guided play sessions to foster parent networking, with parents gaining leadership skills by leading sessions in their native languages for peers. We also organize parent workshops on topics of interest, such as managing screen time and discipline strategies. 

• Systems Navigation: The contextual barriers facing newcomer communities are interconnected and varied; these systemic challenges, which often reinforce one another, limit refugees’ and immigrants’ ability to access resources and knowledge needed to live healthy, safe and productive lives in the U.S. CRB’s System Navigation Programs provide intensive case management focused on economic stability and advancing the economic, social, and career prospects of refugees, immigrants,  and asylum seekers resettled in South King County.

We have made a significant impact on newcomer communities, serving an average of 1,500 individuals annually, primarily refugees and immigrants.

Recognition

We are grateful to all the donors, volunteers, funders, partners, and our board of directors for the tremendous support to serve newcomer communities in WA State.