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Fair housing in an ever changing world

Newcomers

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Children playing cow game in my native village in the Congo.

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Children in my native village in the Congo, enjoying the beautiful weather

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Question. Why do people migrate or move ?

Seeking safety, peace, liberty, freedom, and/or wealth. Theses are things that humanity has always sought after, from generation to generation.

If our environment does not offer what we need, it is time to move to whatever environment offers a greater degree of these things that we constantly seek.

What are the major causes of immigration? War, social and political conflict, natural disaster, the need for social and economic opportunities.

The factors that cause the need for migration are very unpredictable and no one has any guarantee that he or she will never have to face them at any certain time in life.

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According to the international organization for

migration “World Migration Report” in 2010, the

number of international migrants was estimated at

214 million.

If this number continues to grow at the same pace as

during the last 20 years, it could reach 405

million by 2050.

 

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The United States is undoubtedly still the land of dreams, a fact which has always inspired millions of people around the world to want to immigrate here.

There are millions of people stationed in transitional camps around the world, waiting to immigrate specifically to America.

Millions of others line up in the queue outside every U.S. embassy around the world, seeking a visa to America.

The annual level of immigration in the U.S averaged

1.8 million between fiscal year 2002 and 2006.

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Transitional Refugee camp before resettling in the United

States of America

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Visa Applicants at U.S consulate in India

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Many people have moved here from different continents and from different backgrounds: Poor or rich, uneducated or educated.

Once they are resettled, they go through a long and depressing integration process, from which it may take years to recover. Many educated people are misunderstood as being uneducated due to their lack of fluency in English. Generalizations and stereotypes work against the immigrant.

The process of resettlement elicits an array of feelings: hope and relief as well as confusion, guilt and grief for families left behind.

Approximately 20,000 people have left their native African countries to resettle in and around the Portland Maine area. Their numbers are expected to significantly increase, On avesrage, 450 newcomers every year are expected to arrive.

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Believing in a future that will allow them to shift their focus from surviving to thriving, they arrive.

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New residents who are lucky to shift from refugee camps and live in these extravagant units, experience numerous challenges, including but not limited to: using amenities that they have never used before, complying with unfamiliar rules and regulations, and language barriers. They often are unable to effectively communicate with their landlord due to language issues.

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Portland Apartment Community that many immigrant families call home now.

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Common issues for newcomers

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Newcomers have limited ability to understand their lease.

They can be incapable of necessary communication and require quality interpretation.

They can have large families and require larger apartments than what is available.

They have limited access to housing information. Many don’t use the internet or read local newspapers. Word of mouth is the best method to reach them.

They may not understand how to use all the apartment appliances and utilities properly resulting in potential safety hazards.

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Suggestions

Landlords have to translate the lease and necessary documents to accommodate people with LEP

Create in-house ESL classes seeking volunteers to be teachers

Create an effective orientation system at the move in and thereafter

Developers have to think ahead and build some appropriate size apartments for newcomers who often have large families and elders

Make housing information accessible to newcomers by putting flyers into churches

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