Friendships are finally getting their due. Once relegated to a distant third position after life partners and children, a spate of new books are spotlighting the importance of friends. And research shows that people with close friends are healthier – both emotionally...
Purpose Prize
The Latest from CoGenerate
An Intergenerational Approach to Getting Families Housed in Santa Barbara
Lyiam Galo is the co-director of Generations United for Service, a program of the Northern Santa Barbara County United Way and one of 10 awardees of the CoGen Challenge to Advance Economic Opportunity. Watch for interviews with all 10 of these innovators bringing...
Utilizing Faith-Owned Land to Strengthen Intergenerational Community in Seattle
E.N. West is the co-founder and lead organizer of the Faith Land Initiative of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, one of 10 awardees of the CoGen Challenge to Advance Economic Opportunity. Watch for interviews with all 10 of these innovators bringing older and...
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Emira Habiby Browne
Purpose Prize Fellow 2009
Browne provides culturally sensitive support services to help new immigrants integrate without fear of losing their identity.
At age 51, Browne – a Palestinian immigrant and social services professional – founded a social service agency in New York to address the needs of the growing Arabic-speaking immigrant community, offering a range of family-focused, culturally competent services to help families successfully integrate into American society. After 9/11, Browne became a leading community advocate for those traumatized by the backlash of discrimination, racial profiling, detentions, and deportations. In 2006, Browne founded a second organization, the Center for the Integration and Advancement of New Americans, or CIANA, which utilizes integration services designed specifically for immigrants and refugees from the largely Muslim societies of the Middle East and its neighboring countries in Africa and South Asia. Browne recognized the need for a more proactive approach to bridging the culture gap between the American and more traditional Eastern cultures. Rather than waiting for integration to take place through second and third generations, CIANA serves as a welcome center for newcomers, providing them with the appropriate services to help them gain economic independence and integrate into mainstream society without having to relinquish their cultural and religious identities. “We are never too old to effect change and to use our life experiences to fight for what we believe in,” Browne says.