News » Television Series Assists Local Refugee Populations

Access Tucson’s long-running series, TucsonVision is the model for a $25,000 grant from Catholic Healthcare West to assist local refugee populations. The grant was recently awarded to La Frontera Center, Inc. The funding will be used to produce and air a TucsonVision series and create DVDs that focus on injury prevention, safe home environment, mental/behavioral health issues and how to access appropriate care.

Tucson is home to more than 13,000 refugees and resettles more than 600 new arrivals each year. These legal immigrants come from war-torn countries where they have suffered persecution, often torture, malnutrition and disease.

A series of video presentations in refugees’ first language that can be broadcast through Access Tucson will also build a library of information that improves the health and knowledge of newcomer populations for a long time to come. The working title of the project is “Living Healthy in America”.

The programs will be taped in the refugees’ first languages for the Somali, Somali Bantu and Burundian populations. Project partners include La Frontera Center, Inc., Access Tucson, Catholic Social Services, International Rescue Committee, Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, and the UA College of Medicine.

TucsonVision is a six, ½ hour-program series that Access Tucson has developed for nonprofits. Members from organizations are taught during an orientation how to host and produce a television program. Access Tucson contributes a professionally designed set and the technical support.