WEST BRATTLEBORO-Since October 2022, more than 600 refugees and asylum seekers have been resettled in Windham and Bennington counties.
Then came Jan. 20 and, in the words of Joe Wiah of the Ethiopian Community Development Council (EDCD), "things have changed."
With the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump, ECDC and nine other refugee resettlement agencies around the U.S. saw much of their funding from the U.S. State Department disappear as resettlement programs were halted.
In ECDC's case, Wiah said they lost 80% of their funding and were forced to lay off most of their staff.
Despite this blow, he said that ECDC "will continue to be here, and we'll continue to serve the refugee population we have here."
"So, if you are refugee or immigrant or any community partner, we just want to reassure you that our offices are open, even though it's on a reduced capacity, but we'll continue to serve the refugee population we have here," Wiah continued.
The resourcefulness and generosity of local nonprofits and ordinary Vermonters in the face of the chaos of the first months of the new administration were the themes of an information session held on March 19 at All Souls Church.
More than 75 people who attended the hybrid meeting came to get an update on current resettlement efforts.
Answering their questions were representatives from U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC), Grace Initiative, Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP), and the Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV).
The state pitches in
Tracy Dolan, director of the Vermont Agency of Human Services' State Refugee Office, said that while federal funding has dried up, the state is still funding a variety of programs such as English language training, youth mentoring, and case management.
Dolan said Gov. Phil Scott remains "very interested" in finding ways to keep the current efforts going.
"The governor's office has expressed strong support for refugee resettlement and, in general, strong support for helping people who want to stay here and work and build their families here, and figuring out ways to keep them here," she said.
"And so that has been nice to be in a state where we know we've got that support," Dolan continued. "Some of my fellow colleagues, who are in the same position that I am in other states, are not so lucky."
Economic impact
The economic impact of the new Vermonters in southeast Vermont is considerable.
According to Alex Beck, BDCC's Welcoming Communities manager, the agency served 160 refugees seeking employment in fiscal year 2024, the most recent data available.
Beck said that number represents the majority of working adults and that the combined earned income from this group was more than $4 million.
In FY 2024, 102 full-time workers earned an average hourly wage of $19.85, "which is remarkable because there are challenges for people with limited English proficiency," he said.
"When we talk about integration and inclusion in our community, that includes the workplace," said Beck. "And there are new Vermonters working - 14 in health care and hospital settings, 48 in manufacturing, 17 in construction; 19 work in nonprofits, one works at a bank, three work in schools; 24 work in distribution warehousing, 13 in retail and pharmacies, and 14 in hospitality."
Of four entrepreneurs, he said, two of them also hold down other jobs.
"So these folks are in every corner of our community and our economy, which is really important, because that's what 'inclusive' really means," Beck said.
Volunteers fill the gaps
Paul Gallagher, the co-leader of refugee resettlement efforts at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Brattleboro, said about 85 volunteers are helping out families who arrived in Brattleboro following the withdrawal of U.S. military in Afghanistan and the Taliban's swift retaking of the country in 2021.
"We're from all parts of the community," Gallagher said. "We're organized under St. Michael's Episcopal Church, but over half our volunteers are from elsewhere. So we're an umbrella organization that works very closely with with ECDC."
Gallagher said the many volunteers who have helped refugee families "really learned what it took to welcome a refugee and get them on the path to self-sufficiency."
The Afghans, he said, "were thrust from their homeland, very unexpectedly, to a place with a different language, culture, religion, and economics."
Gallagher said that "based on size, skills, [and] stage of life, we support them with our time and talents in areas of language, schooling, health care, housing, transportation, financial literacy, employment, and agree to specific milestones and tasks and delivery of support."
The goal, he said, is to "help them on their journey to self sufficiency."
'One step at a time'
Wiah, who moderated the session, said he routinely says to staff and to the refugees that "we just have to take it one step at a time. It's one day at a time, one step at a time."
"And I also want you to know that our refugee community came from a very, very tough situation," he said.
"So in as much as it's very tough right now, we will get through it," Wiah said. "It's not the end."
With additional reporting from Joyce Marcel.
This News item by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.