February 2014 Newsletter

February 2014 Newsletter
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Greetings from Higher,In Kennedy Park in Lewiston, Maine this fall, a group of pierced and tattooed skate punks sat near a group of Somali mothers in colorful headscarves watching their children play. At one end of the park, several community leaders left a social service community meeting, while at the opposite end, a Somali-run farm stand teemed with customers and fresh produce. On a commercial street at the base of the park, customers could buy a hunting licenses and Carhart outdoor wear while listening to Somali men cheering a World Cup qualifying match across the street in a coffee shop.

The Lewiston farm stand is part of Cultivating Community’s New American Sustainable Agriculture Project (“NASAP”). The coffee shop and several neighboring Somali businesses received assistance from Coastal Enterprise Institute’s (“CEI”) StartSmart program tailored to offer savings, financial literacy and access to lending programs for refugees and other immigrants.

This diversity, energy and commitment is what makes refugee resettlement in Maine so unique. This is also why it’s such a great place to feature in Higher’s first 2014 newsletter.

Both programs, as well as Catholic Charities’ mentoring program, are featured in this issue. All three are based in Portland, but have strong programs in Lewiston. All three receive funding from ORR and offer ideas you can incorporate into your own existing programs or explore start-up of a new program.

This is also the first of several newsletters to look at successful refugee employment initiatives through a geographic lens. While we will continue to highlight innovations, successes and models, we will also include a short list of quick facts to help you put our stories in context and an expanded resource section to help you explore further. Look for future issues featuring refugee employment in Dallas, Texas and Seattle, Washington.

We are excited about this new way to examine and share models and successes to inform the work of refugee employment on a national basis. Let us know what’s going on in your neighborhood, as we are always looking for new ideas and successes to highlight.

Happy reading,
Lorel

Facts, Figures and Impressions: The Context for Refugee Resettlement in Portland and Lewiston, Maine

With a population of 1,328,501, Maine’s foreign-born population has grown 10.5% in the past eleven years , representing 3.2% of the state’s total population.(Migration Policy Institute).
Residents reporting that a language other than English spoken at home has gone from 7% to more than 20%.
Maine’s total population has not increased significantly and it is the oldest with few young people moving in from other states(US Census data)
More than 95% of the State population included in the 2012 US Census annual survey identified as white only.
In January 2009, Newsweek associated a drop in crime rate, soaring income per capita and increased business activity in Lewiston with recent immigration to the town by Somalis
Catholic Charities Maine (“CCM”) is the only resettlement agency bringing refugees to in Maine. In their 2013 fiscal year, CCM resettled 366 refugees and served 54 secondary migrants and 19 asylees. 42% of those resettled refugees were from Iraq, 37% were from Somalia and the remainder were from more than 13 countries around the world.
L.L. Bean, Inc. is the largest employer in the Portland area, followed by Maine Medical Center, several financial service providers and Verizon. Tourism and agriculture are two of the top industries State-wide. Refugees are employed by all of the employers and sectors mentioned here.
Nelson Rockefeller, Andrew Wyeth, Dorothea Dix, Slade Cleaves, George H. W. Bush and Henry Wordsworth Longfellow are all Mainers.
Jama Mohamed will be sworn in as the first refugee elected to serve on the Lewiston School Committee this month. ZamZam Mohamud, another refugee community leader, served previously by appointment.

MAINE – Coastal Enterprise Institute

Tailoring 30 Years of Economic Development Leadership to Channel Refugee Energy into Economic Growth in Maine

Yassin Moussa came to Lewiston, Maine in 2010. CEI’s StartSmart helped him expand his small cell phone business. Moussa and his wife also enrolled in the Individual Development Account (“IDA”) program and registered for CEI’s “First Time Homebuyer” and “Becoming a Landlord” classes.

With his own savings, IDA matching funds and financial assistance from the City of Lewiston, the family qualified for a Sharia-compliant commercial loan . Moussa purchased a completely renovated, three-unit, multi-family home in Lewiston. The family lives in one unit and rents the other two.

Since 2010, Moussa still operates his cell phone business and has purchased a second multi-unit rental property as a business investment, has an emergency savings fund and continues to work with a StartSmart Business Counselor on record-keeping and with IDA staff for personal budgeting and advice.

One of the reasons he selected this type of business is so that he could give back by providing other refugees with quality affordable housing. All of his current tenants are refugees who are lucky to have a great landlord and community member in their corner.

At the time of Higher’s newsletter publication, Moussa was in the final stages of purchasing a third rental property.

CEI is a “nationally recognized, private, nonprofit Community Development Corporation and Community Development Financial Institution that provides financing and support for job-creating small businesses, natural resources industries, community facilities, and affordable housing.”
Their mission is “to help create economically and environmentally healthy communities in which all people, especially those with low incomes, can reach their full potential.”

General Background About IDA’s
According to their website, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) “is an active funder and supporter of IDAs, which are matched savings accounts to assist with one or more savings goals:

Home purchase to increase home ownership;
Microenterprise capitalization to establish or expand a business
Post-secondary education or training to advance education
In some cases, purchase of an automobile to maintain or upgrade employment.

IDA grantees provide matched savings accounts to refugees whose annual income is less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level and whose assets-exclusive of a personal residence and one vehicle-are less than $10,000. Grantees provide matches of up to $1 for every $1 deposited by a refugee in a savings account. The total match amount provided may not exceed $2,000 for individuals or $4,000 for households. Upon enrolling in an IDA program, a refugee signs a savings plan agreement which specifies the savings goal, the match rate, and the amount the refugee will save each month.

In addition, the IDA grantees provide basic financial training which is intended to assist refugees in understanding the American financial system, budgeting, saving, and credit. The IDA grantees also provide training focused on the specific savings goals. This specialized training ensures that refugees receive appropriate information on purchasing and managing their asset purchases.”

How It Works at CEI
1,100 new immigrants have participated in the StartSmart program. 250 refugees have had an IDA account since 2008 when the program began. The program has provided 160 loans and supported the start-up of 320 businesses including, but not limited to, refugees.

The first step is a one-hour orientation—with an interpreter, if needed—to explain the program’s goals, requirements and expectations 75% of program participants hear about the opportunity via word of mouth and through CEI’s informal outreach to ethnic-based community organizations. Catholic Charities of Maine (CCM) also provides referrals.

All IDA participants are required to complete a twelve-hour “Basic Money Management in America” class provided by Community Financial Literacy, a Congolese refugee-founded nonprofit. Read more about Community Financial Literacy and the workshops it offers new immigrants on their website, listed in the resource section at the end of this article.

Each participant also receives at least three individual coaching sessions that focus on what he or she needs to achieve personal savings goals. If the participant’s goal is capitalization to start a small business and he or she qualifies to apply for a loan, the participant receives additional support to develop a business plan and complete loan application paperwork, as well as other basic business start-up skills.

Jill Lorom, StartSmart IDA Program Coordinator, explained that clients’ needs and goals drive the Financial Coaching sessions. The coaching identifies clients’ specific financial issues and might include referrals to other social service providers. For the first few years, StartSmart reminds clients to pay taxes, but they do not remind clients to meet their monthly savings goals.

Accessing the range of services CEI provides helps refugees leverage their IDA savings into meaningful assets, as is evident through the following success story from CEI’s 2012 Annual Report.

Catholic Charities Maine Mentoring Program

Harnessing Volunteer Energy Through Mentoring Focused on Long-term Career Goals

In 2012, Ashley Storrow was an Americorps volunteer working at Catholic Charities Maine (“CCM”). She led development of a pilot project to help 18 to 30-year-old refugees with communication-level English pursue academic, professional-development or job-search goals by pairing each with a mentor. After one year, the program is working and a second cohort is being developed. Mentoring is now one of the strategies CCM offers to help refugees and asylees achieve self-sufficiency through employment.

How the Program Works
CCM tapped into its employer and community connections to pair the first group of 21 refugees with their mentors. A six-hour mentor orientation explained refugee resettlement and employment, program expectations, ethics and boundaries. Pairs worked together for one hour each week for a year. CCM organized periodic group events, including employer networking opportunities and informal socializing.

Anecdotal evidence around the country show that clients with mentors obtain jobs faster than the general refugee population. So far, the Maine experience is following that pattern. According to Storrow, “matching pairs with similar backgrounds and interests and identifying volunteer mentors with strong roots in the Portland community are key success factors.” Passion and commitment from staff and the resettlement agency provide the support that makes it work as a program.

A Story of Two Future Medical Doctors
Hassan Mahmoud came to Maine via Sudan and Syria in the summer of 2013. He had graduated medical school and completed one year of a medical residency and was determined to complete his training and become a doctor in the United States.

Sean Lena, a fluent Arabic speaker, is following in his father’s footsteps, studying at the University of New England, College of Osteopathic Medicine. When he decided to go back to medical school, he wanted to stay connected with international public health.

It’s a great match. Sean helped Hasan shadow doctors at the free clinic where he volunteers. They meet weekly and Sean uses his networks to be sure Hasan is connected.

Hassan is now doing interpreting work, meeting with several potential employers and studying to take the first Board exam toward recertification in January.

Follow Higher’s blog to read about Sean and Hassan’s progress-and about how Ashley continues to develop the second cohort of mentor-mentee pairs-in the coming months.

Cultivating Community’s New American Sustainable Agriculture Project

Employment, Empowerment and Community Connection through Growing and Selling Fresh Food

The New American Sustainable Agriculture Project (“NASAP”) includes 45 program participants: 25 are enrolled in training and nine graduated earlier this year. In 2009, total sales of produce grown at NASAP’s training farm totaled $15,000. Five years later, annual revenue is $131,000 and includes 22 farmers market stalls or independently operated farm stands. One refugee earned $20,000 through his full-time growing and wholesale delivery operation.

NASAP “helps immigrant and refugee farmers to build successful farm businesses that are consistent with their culture, lifestyle aspirations and individual goals.” A project of Cultivating Community of Portland, Maine, NASAP operates a training farm, a number of farm stands and a CSA, and it is also a growing wholesale supplier for local restaurants and grocery retailers.

Initially, refugees learned about the program through referrals or outreach to ethnic-based community groups, but most now come through word-of-mouth. The majority of participants are Somali and approximately 75% are women. Many have other jobs to help provide the income they need to cover expenses for themselves and their families.

How the Program Works
Participants start small with a quarter-acre plot at the training farm.

For some, this communal garden setting is enough. Their involvement reconnects them with their roots and culture, increases their access to fresh food and provides them with stress-relief and a connection to community.

For others, the program can become a source of extra income or beyond, depending on individual goals and circumstances. Daniel Ungier, NASAP Director of Farmer Training, said, “It takes two years for them to really see if they like the business, learn enough and decide if they want to commit to doing it for income generation.”

Expanded involvement happens at each participant’s own pace. Some take five years to develop their growing into an income stream, but they all start small by learning about markets, planting and growing cycles in the Maine climate. Initially, participants sell in a group farm stand setting and can make $500-1,000 per summer growing season in additional income while they learn how to sell, package and provide United States-style customer service.

Depending on their interest and abilities, participants can eventually operate their own stalls at farmers markets, get involved in CSA delivery routes and/or deliver orders to wholesale customers.

Training and Program Requirements
NASAP offers year-round training on a number of important topics and is organized around the growing season. Initially, training is four days per week and includes two days of English classes for a total of 16 weeks. The classes include specific farmers’ market vocabulary and English produce names. One day focuses on practical tasks and skills, including paperwork, farmers market applications, seed orders and operational details. Financial literacy classes are also included.
During the growing season, the schedule is much more focused on growing and learning by doing, but weekly English classes are still offered all year.

Participants also receive customized help to open bank accounts, manage money and perform other business tasks within the parameters of their religious and cultural norms.
During the second half of October, as the growing season comes to an end, all participants receive an individual assessment and help to develop a plan for their level of involvement and continued participation in the program.

Transportation is a barrier to participation in the program, since the training farm is outside of town and not served by public transportation. Still, NASAP staff report that those who are ready to enroll in the program often share rides or develop other solutions from within their own community networks.

NASAP meets clients where they are and offers a lot of flexibility. They do hold participants accountable, however, and require 75% attendance and enforce call-in absence policies.

Markets, Marketing and Employer Connections

Whole Foods in Portland, Maine, was eager to support this innovative program, even though NASAP production volume and produce delivery standards do not yet meet Whole Foods’ supplier requirements. Instead, one busy Portland, Maine Whole Foods location now features a NASAP farm stand in the parking lot.

One of NASAP’s primary role is connecting to markets. This is the most difficult aspect for new immigrants, even after a number of years. NASAP builds CSA delivery routes, recruits wholesale customers, manages involvement in an ever-expanding list of farmers markets, serves as a link to restaurants and provides market knowledge.

As Ungier explains, “people don’t like to buy the last basket of spinach and prefer to buy from stalls with a variety of products.” This involves packaging and marketing strategies as well as year-round growing techniques and crop selection strategies. That’s a lot to learn, but subsistence farming is the traditional occupation and lifestyle for many Somalis. Gardening and larger scale agricultural production are a great fit for many refugees, as they draw on some of the skills they bring with them to this country.

Consistent product and attendance build farmers market customers and community ties. According to Ungier, after a few years of consistent presence, customers ask about the Somali sellers they have come to know and trust and look for them in the markets.