Immigrant and Refugee Youth Development in Washington’s South Sound: Approaching Local Needs through Holistic Strategies

Abstract

Positive youth development (PYD) with respect to the immigrant youth population (a rapidly growing segment of the United States population) is paramount to the success of the United States. Unfortunately, the current cultural awareness of immigrant youth development in the Pacific Northwest is minimal. This study draws on Transformative and Indigenous paradigms, and implements a Community Needs Assessment, to explore parents’ perspectives about the well-being of their youth. Fifteen Korean-American, immigrant, and refugee families served by one social services agency in Tacoma, Washington were surveyed. Three clear findings were uncovered in this study: parents agreed on the importance of exposing their children to their Korean culture early in life, and in multiple contexts; the COVID-19 pandemic, generational gaps, and increased acts of racism challenged the ability of Korean-American youth to build their self-identity and development; parents expressed a clear desire for their children to socialize, learn, grow and develop holistically in future (post-pandemic) opportunities. This study begins to identify what youth within this community need to thrive and be successful and serves as the initial step in conducting a community needs assessment which will continue after this study.