Houston is a diverse and international city. According to the U.S. Census (2000) the racial makeup of the city was 49.3% Caucasian, 25.3% African American, 5.3% Asian, Native American 5.3%, 16.5 % other and 37% Hispanic. In an effort to improve upon existing strengths within the refugee and immigrant families living in Houston communities the Office of International Communities along with the Mayor’s advisory Committee of Immigrant and refugee affairs (Advisory Committee Office of International Communities) tasked an engagement working group to explore the aspirations of the families utilizing an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) methodology with the goal of informing service providers and city policy. Appreciative inquiry is a methodology that focuses on strengths based research
