Soccer Without Borders USA
This project's parent organization is Soccer Without Borders
It operates in United States
It uses Football (Soccer)
Shortlisted for the Sport For Social Inclusion Award
More about Soccer Without Borders USA
SWB USA creates positive team communities for newcomer refugee, asylee and immigrant youth. Nearly 80,000 refugees and 500,000 immigrants arrive in the US annually, seeking peace and a chance for a better future. Newcomer youth are one of the most vulnerable populations in the US. Not only are these youth navigating a new culture and language, their often traumatic backgrounds create significant barriers to traditional models of academic and social “success.”
The combination of poverty, urban violence, and cultural isolation lead many newcomer to youth to feel hopeless, with a national school drop-out rate of more than 40%. Efforts to connect these youth with services have proven ineffective; innovative solutions are crucial. Service providers must engage newcomer youth through avenues that are relevant, accessible, and appropriate. Because of the platform that soccer provides, SWB reaches newcomer youth in a way that few other service providers can. For many newcomer youth, the soccer field is one of their favorite places to go, where they feel successful, supported, safe and free. Coming to SWB, youth build meaningful friendships, community connections and powerful mentor/mentee relationships, which play a vital role in their successful integration and authentically shift outcomes.