Organizational Background
Since 2008, Bhutanese Community Organization of Minnesota(BCOM), formally know as Nirvana Center has been serving Bhutanese refugee families by providing support in their growth as new Americans. BCOM started as informal organization as way to help newly arrived Bhutanese refugee families in Minnesota to address the many challenges that will endure as a result of entering an unfamiliar environment to address basic needs, navigating systems, and their journey towards achieving self-sufficiency. Currently, BCOM is the only is the only ethnic Bhutanese nonprofit agency in the Twin Cities that serves the Bhutanese refugee population in MN. BCOM provides basic services like transportations to hospitals, social service offices, job readiness and placement, health education and awareness, reading county letters, filling forms and helping them connect with social services provided by different organizations in the Twin Cites. In addition to providing funded services to the community, BCOM also engages in community building by organizing different groups of community members like: youths, older adults and adult working members. Further, BCOM engages in promoting and preserving language and rich cultural heritage the community has brought to the cultural diversity in the Twin Cities.