7/27/2019 Mayor Domenic Sarno's Letter to Refugee Service Providers 8-21-2013

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THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

MAYOR DOMENIC J. SARNO

HOME OF THE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME

City of Springfield 36 Court Street Springfield, MA 01103-1687 (413) 787-6100

August 21, 2013

Jewish Family Services-Western Mass Lutheran Social Services1160 Dickinson St 593 Main St

Springfield, MA 01108 Springfield, MA 01089

Catholic Charities Agency

65 Elliot Street

Springfield, MA 01105

Sent Via Electronic Mail

Dear Service Providers:

In preparation for our upcoming meeting scheduled for August 28, and in the spirit of cooperation, Iwanted to take this opportunity to set forth the issues that the City of Springfield is concerned aboutrelative to the ongoing settlement of refugees, and to request information that will allow our meeting tobe both efficient and productive. It is my hope that the information being sought by my office will bemade available for review prior to sitting down together on the 28th, and I look forward to workingtogether to responsibly develop a plan to resolve what has become a serious matter of public safety.

In order to properly evaluate the data that corresponds to the settlement of and services provided torefugees in Springfield, I renew my request for all proposals, abstracts and informational documentationsubmitted by or on behalf of local settlement agencies, including the exact number of individuals settledin Springfield since 2010, and the numbers of refugees settled in Western Massachusetts during thesame time period, broken down by community and country of origin.

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I have received some explanation of what services are provided to the refugees in the first 90 days, but Iwould like a clearer sense of exactly what transitional assistance is provided to the refugees in thefollowing areas:

1. Cash assistance; both initial and more long-term;2. Case management services3. Employment readiness and search services4. Adult English Language Assistance5. Educational support for children6. Medical Assistance; is there any ongoing support beyond applying for public insurance

benefits7. Psychological counseling8. Peer support groups9. Housing selection and support services

I have invited a representative of the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants to attend.Under the provisions of Mass. Gen. Laws, ch. 6, 207, the Massachusetts Office for Refugees andImmigrants is authorized, among other things: to plan, coordinate, monitor, and administer programsthat provide transitional assistance to refugees and immigrants and that lead to durable self-sufficiency,and to ascertain the needs of local communities with significant populations of refugees and immigrantsand to work with local officials and community-based organizations to address those needs, to increasethe availability and utilization of qualified interpreter services, to enter into agreements or contracts withother public or private agencies or units of local, county, or state government for the delivery and/orcoordination of services to refugees and immigrants or for other statutorily-authorized purposes and tothe office, to administer federal monies received by the commonwealth for services to refugees andimmigrants, to impose reasonable charges for any services rendered or materials furnished.

It is my hope that a representative from the State will be able to meet to discuss how best to utilize theauthority of that office to address concerns of the residents of the City of Springfield.

In addition to the foregoing, I am also requesting that the service providers supply the City with anydocumentation submitted to the Office for Refugees and Immigrants or U.S. State Department indicatingand corresponding to the applicable criteria used to select what communities refugees are placed in. Iwould like to obtain a copy of any documents indicating whether the criteria includes a review of thenumber of refugees already placed in a given community, and whether there is some attempt to measurethe impact on the host community of significant number of refugees living at or below the poverty lineon a communities resources?

For example, is any determination, consideration, or evaluation made as to the local governmentscapacity to absorb refugees who have been traumatized by tragic events in their lives and the localpublic agencies for a host community within that jurisdiction? The City of Springfield currently haslimited capacity to provide social services to meet the existing needs of the community's currentresidents. The estimated median household income for Springfield in 2011 was $32,124 while medianhousehold income for the state is estimated at $62, 859. Springfield has a large percentage of its existingpopulation living below the poverty level, and has insufficient resources available to make available to

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meet the needs of its most needy residents. The availability of affordable housing, low-cost housing, orboth, and existing waiting lists for such housing in the community should be a consideration whenmaking these decisions. In addition, the capacity of the local school district to meet the needs of theexisting or anticipated refugee student population must be considered before future placements are

made.

Considering the high level of unemployment in Springfield, there is likely a limited ability of the localeconomy to absorb new workers without causing displacing existing local workers, or adverselyaffecting the wages or working conditions of the local workforce.

I would like to make arrangements to participate with the State and local settlement agencies to:

advocate for increased amount of federal refugee assistance, to extend assistanceservices to one year, extend refugee case management to 18 months (with well-definedresponsibilities including education, housing, transportation, banking, health care, and

communications) and expand employment services (with a focus on securing housingnear available employment, and capitalizing on refugees existing fields of expertise)

create a state supplement to the federal refugee assistance program promote community development in immigrant neighborhoods by investing in resources

and supports, as well as improving physical infrastructure including the quality ofhousing and community spaces

Increase the number of local and state inspectors available to review housing violations.The health, safety and welfare of the people of Springfield and refugees being placed here is myprimary concern. With the help of your agencies and the Commonwealth Office of Refugees andImmigrants, it is my sincere goal to create a comprehensive plan for coordination between the City,public agencies, and local settlement agencies providing services to the refugees.

I look forward to reviewing the information provided in response to this correspondence, and todiscussing potential avenues for improved communication and allocation of resources goingforward. Thank you in advance for your continued attention to this matter and for your promptresponse to the above requests.

Respectfully,

Domenic J. SarnoMayor