Dragon Info Clients Suffering System Breakdown Gettng people Jobs Zen Hienes-the hard core cases Refugee Program
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December 2001 Refugees are provided services for up to eight months after they arrive in this country. According to Preng Thach, who works with the Alameda County Refugee Program, these services include English as Second Language classes, a crash course in job training and American culture, and a cash grant of $300 to $325 for adults over 18 who have no children. The program tries to provide language services, ranging from Vietnamese to Farsi. The services are pretty basic: things like how to read a map and take the bus. Thach came to the United States in 1975, fleeing the killing fields of Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge takeover. “I’m lucky to be alive,” he comments. He acknowledges it was a lot easier when he came over. “There were a lot of good-paying jobs back then. It seemed everywhere you went someone offered you a job. Now all we have are minimum wage jobs.” Even with the jobs he can get them, most of his clients can’t afford their own apartment and have to live with friends.
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