IPL provides leadership training for refugees from Asia and Africa, immigrants from Latin America, and leaders of congregations and community organizations affiliated with OTOC so they can be effective agents of positive change in their communities.  IPL has provided leadership training to these leaders who are working on the following initiatives.

Leadership Development Training:

IPL Organizers and staff provide Leadership Development and Community Organizing training sessions to a variety of community groups and congregations. Past trainings include House Meeting training for the Anti Defamation League Neighborhood Strong project, House Meeting training for the ELCA Nebraska Synod, guest lectures about community organizing in college classes, and a presentation on why community organizing is effective for the Servants of Mary. For more information, contact Executive Director, Sarah Keeney – [email protected]

Trainings include:

• What is Broad Based Community Organizing?
• The Cycle of Organizing
• Tools of Organizing
• Qualities of a Leader
• Civic Academies on Issues

Refugees:

• Omaha Refugee Task Force — The ORTF is a collaborative effort from refugee resettlement groups, service providers, refugee communities, local and state officials, and allies. The task force collaborates to share knowledge, organize events, and ensure that Omaha is a welcoming, inclusive space for refugee families. IPL staff participates on the Task Force and chairs the Housing Committee.

Past Initiatives we helped organize:

• Refugee Rental Rights and Responsibilities Training — providing training to refugees about their responsibilities and rights as renting tenants to prevent and identify unfair landlord practices. 
• Refugee Women Leadership Academy — continue providing leadership training to diverse refugee women so they understand how to better solve issues affecting women and their children.
• New American Civic Academy — continue working with Lutheran Family Services, UNO Political Science Department and others to organize training sessions so that refugees and new immigrants understand how different levels of government operate in Omaha and Nebraska and how to organize to have an effective voice with elected officials.
• Refugee Culture Night and events — continue helping refugee leaders of diverse ethnic backgrounds organize cultural events to share their culture with long time Nebraskans and learn how to work together across language and ethnicity on a shared project.
• Refugee Health Collaborative—continue working with UNMC College of Public Health and others to provide education to refugee communities about how to maintain their health and to medical providers about how to better provide care to refugees in Omaha.
• Refugee Mental Health Collaborative — will work to increase collaboration of existing mental health resources in order to improve access to mental healthcare and support groups for refugees who speak little English.

Immigrants:

• Leadership Development Intensives in Spanish— In the summer of 2019 and the fall of 2020 IPL hosted Leadership Development 3 Day trainings in Spanish for leaders from a variety of bilingual parishes and community groups. The trainings brought in national organizers to present about taking leadership in congregations, how to make change using community, and how to empower communities. 
• Legal support and education for new immigrants—will continue to work with non-profit and pro bono immigration attorneys to provide accurate legal information to immigrants about changing immigration laws and enforcement policies so that immigrants know their rights and responsibilities under the current laws.

OTOC Action Teams:

Mental Healthcare

• OTOC Mental Health Action team — organizes to educate the public and elected officials about the need to improve the mental health care and continuity of care that is afforded to persons suffering from mental illness and their families and to persons incarcerated in Nebraska prisons and jails. For more information, contact Loyd Neve at [email protected].

Immigrant and Refugee

• OTOC Immigration Action Team—will continue educating about and advocating for comprehensive immigration reform and fair treatment of  immigrants living in Nebraska by state and local officials. In recent years, OTOC leaders have educated officials and the general public about the need for:
  • Prenatal Care for all Nebraska Women
  • Allowing immigrants to prove their identity using a Matricula Consular
  • Fair Treatment of Central American youth fleeing to our border
  • DACA qualified young adults to qualify for a Nebraska Driver’s License
  • Temporary Protected Status
  • How Immigration Reform could be the answer to NE's Labor Shortage

         To learn more, contact Jeanne Schuler at [email protected]

Environmental Sustainability

• OTOC Environmental Sustainability Action Team — will (1) ensure that OPPD fully implements their June, 2014 decision to stop burning coal at North Omaha plant, increase sustainable energy sources to 1/3 of total by 2018; and expand energy efficiency programs and demand reduction programs to reduce the peak demand for energy; and (2) teach members of local congregations and community organizations about how all of us can be better stewards of Creation and what all can do to mitigate the impact of that climate change will have on our community and state. For more information, contact Mary Ruth Stegman at [email protected]