Nestled in Syracuse’s Northside is a 30-block enclave bordered by North Salina Street, East Division Street, Park Street and Kirkpatrick Street. This is where Hopeprint, a nonprofit organization, has three residential homes and focuses its work to help integrate refugees into the community. 

Instead of working for major companies for their School of Information Studies capstones, four seniors — Steven Koestler, Lauren Faerman, Kristen Baumer and Peter Marlo — decided to work with the organization to give back to the city where they’ve gone to school for the past three years.   

Through their capstone, they are aiming to become a liaison between Hopeprint and the Syracuse University campus. Hopeprint’s vision is to create a vibrant, integrated city where refugees can thrive, Baumer said. A part of their mission is to help resettle refugee communities in neighborhoods, she added.  

While the population in Syracuse fluctuates, Koestler said that refugees are increasingly calling Syracuse their permanent home.  

“We’ve got so many people that are leaving the city to move elsewhere, these are the only people that really moving in,” Koestler said. 

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The iSchool students are currently doing an outreach campaign to educate the campus about what Hopeprint is, Baumer said. They are also running a fundraising campaign titled #MyHopeprint.  

They are trying to raise $5,000, a third of Hopeprint’s $15,000 fundraising goal for this season. Baumer said that they are in the works to start an iSchool specific club with Hopeprint to help refugees develop skills with technology and creating professional careers. All SU students will be welcome to join the club, she added. 

Faerman said Hopeprint is about helping the refugees “thrive in the Syracuse community.”  

Their ideas also include creating additional after–school programs with the kids involving technology or doing professional development workshops with the older refugees that will teach skills like creating a resume, Baumer said.  

Hopeprint has three residential homes where it hosts dinners as well as outreach events where they connect to community leaders, Koestler said. The program also includes tutoring for kids, among other activities, Baumer said. 

The organization has the support of local businesses. But up to this point, it has not reached out to the university. As a result, the campus doesn’t really know about the project, Baumer said.  

Because SU students don’t typically stay in Syracuse long term, seniors don’t typically work with the refugees directly or develop connections with them, Koestler said. He added that because they aren’t going to be here in a couple months, they’re hoping to aim the club at younger SU students. 

“The people will be gone but there will be groups, going consistently,” Koestler said. “This isn’t going to go away. This is permanent, Syracuse University has sponsored this and we’re going to keep sending people.” 

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On Mondays, Hopeprint hosts a women’s program where all the women discuss any struggles they are going through, Baumer said. Nicole Watts, the founder of the organization, walked the women who volunteer from SU around one of the houses and showed them where they have “family dinners.”  

How Hopeprint runs its program with the iSchool is by separating the women and men into different groups and each group visits the houses on separate days.  

“But that’s really all of our individual exposure with the refugees that we have. We don’t volunteer every week and work with them,” Baumer said.  

 All the iSchool project members said that they are happy that they are able to give back to the Syracuse community after spending three years at SU. Marlo said working with Hopeprint for his Capstone was a “no-brainer.”  

“These people aren’t going to stop coming here, so it benefits everyone if the community’s made tighter. This is our town for four years, it should be the best town that you can make it,” Koestler said. 

 _allisonw | alweis@syr.edu 

Published on October 9, 2019 at 12:20 am

Contact Allison: alweis@syr.edu