An Immigrant Resource Program grant from the state Department of State’s Office of New Americans is expected to boost those efforts.

For about a year, the coalition and its network of volunteers have helped welcome dozens of refugees to the area. Part of its mission is to assist these individuals and families with community navigation, accessing services, transportation and human connection.

“It’s been, really, an exciting learning process. We’re really approaching a year doing this work,” said the Rev. Luke Fodor of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, where the New Neighbors Coalition is based. “Our first refugees started to be settled about a year ago in Jamestown. Of course, even before the refugees were settled, we discovered there were some asylum seekers in our community as well.

“They are continuing to make their way and integrate themselves into the community. Their kids are going to school; folks are getting their work permits in some cases, so they’re able to work and contribute to society.”

At right in a submitted photo, is a winter weather teaching session recently hosted by Jamestown’s New Neighbors Coalition. It is believed the area has nearly 100 “new neighbors” residing in the Jamestown area.

The resettlement process begins with Journey’s End, a refugee service based in Buffalo, and which has a small staff located in Jamestown. The organization is in the process of expanding its presence in Chautauqua County.

Noel De La Rosa, chief program officer with Journey’s End, said Jamestown has been “very welcoming” to the refugees who have been resettled in the area. He said the organization, among other assistance provided within the first 90 days, looks to help new arrivals with housing, schooling for children and overcoming language barriers.

“I think each family situation is different,” De La Rosa said when asked of the challenges refugees face when moving to a new area. “Most concrete is finding housing and working with landlords. We’re responsible and don’t want them in unsafe conditions.”

De La Rosa noted that some refugees don’t know English, which can present challenges to coordinate transportation or even get a job. However, he said Jamestown is a “walkable city” that affords many the opportunity to utilize bikes for most months out of the year.

BROADENING ITS MISSION

With more “new neighbors” expected to arrive in Jamestown in the coming year, the New Neighbors Coalition is hoping to broaden its mission by offering more resources through a volunteer network. The recent grant from the Office of New Americans will help the coalition offer services in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties under the direction of Momina Di Blasio, volunteer and community engagement coordinator.

“It focuses on engaging in community roundtables with immigrants, volunteers and other stakeholders in the community, such as nonprofits, businesses and potential employers,” Di Blasio said. “Kind of meeting with them — to help address the continuous needs of immigrants in the community. It also provides workshops and information sessions for immigrants in the community as well.”

Fodor likened Di Blasio’s role as that of a “traffic controller” — directing the new neighbors to varying resources as they acclimate to new surroundings.

“The idea is for it to be like immigrant-informed work,” Di Blasio said. “Working closely and having people who are not originally from the area inform the work that we do going forward.”

Fodor added, “Our work is designed to work in those three counties and to help create and foster conversations around that.”

Many of the city’s new neighbors face several hurdles when they are resettled in the Jamestown area. There’s often a language barrier and a lack of transportation that may hinder finding and holding down a job.

But there’s also the simpler tasks: getting to the grocery store or accessing proper health care.

“Basic things that even locals struggle with who don’t have cars,” Di Blasio said. “It’s a common problem in the city.”

De La Rosa said it’s hard to define the success of the resettlement process; refugees come from different backgrounds and each circumstance for their arrival can be different.

A success story, he said, would be a family going from “surviving to thriving” in a new community. “To see their child on the first day of school and saying hello,” he said as one example.

He added of Journey’s End, “We’re committed to Jamestown.”

A MISSION TO HELP

Though in existence for just a short while, volunteers with the New Neighbors Coalition have been busy welcoming refugees to the area. Dozens of donated bicycles and equipment were given out to the new neighbors this past fall. The donation included a safety seminar that was translated into Arabic, Kiswahili and Spanish for the group.

In November, more than 60 people gathered at St. Luke’s to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal.

More activities are in the works as well. On Feb. 12, the newly-established Global Perspectives Book Club will hold its first meeting at 7 p.m. in the church’s undercroft. The brainchild of a coalition volunteer, the book club’s mission is to have members read and learn more about the perspectives of immigrants through fiction.

“It’s another opportunity to engage in conversation and talk about what it’s like to be an immigrant,” Di Blasio said.

The book club will meet every other month; the club’s first book will be “The Ungrateful Refugee” by Dina Nayeri.