In Erie, the early steps are managed by the local branch of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, which we wrote about here, and Catholic Charities. Longer term support systems come from a mosaic of organizations: churches, schools, YMCAs, cultural centers, public libraries, community centers, food banks, businesses, transport systems, medical services, and on and on.

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I recently visited one of these support groups, the contracted Refugee Social Provider, the Multicultural Community Resource Center (MCRC). It is located east of State Street, which cuts through the middle of Erie and still signals a socioeconomic boundary. Most of Erie’s less affluent population lives on the east side. The MCRC occupies the Old Penn Schoolhouse and its next-door annex at the former 10th St. United Methodist Church. The MCRC began as the Hispanic American Council in 1975, broadening its scope nearly 20 years ago to include refugees outside the Hispanic community. Their mission is to help refugees and immigrants (some of whom are transitory migrant laborers) in just about every way, from social, civic, educational to economic life. The MCRC also raises the profile of the newly-arrived with the more established citizens of Erie. MCRC is funded by as many as two dozen organizations, from government and civic groups to corporations, nonprofits, and private benefactors.

On the day I visited, all kinds of people were bustling in and out of the buildings. The MCRC runs at least 15 different programs including transportation, health care navigation, notary public services, and language translation in Spanish, Bosnian, Russian, Ukrainian, Arabic, Vietnamese, Swahili, Burmese, and more. They touch a lot of cultural bases most of us wouldn’t consider, like truancy prevention and referrals for children at risk of being placed out of their homes.

The Center provides employment services, one of which is Mosaico, a for-profit subsidiary of the non-profit MCRC. It matches employers and employees, and it supports both sides with language and cultural help. We visited one of the employers, Plastek, an internationally successful manufacturer of plastics packaging, which makes many commonly-used containers, like deodorant holders and detergent bottles. Other lines of work are what you’d expect: food services, construction, general labor, etc. In Sioux Falls, Burlington, and now Erie, we have heard a variety of poignant stories from refugees, from those who left behind menial jobs or no jobs at all to those who left behind professional jobs as lawyers, administrators, doctors, and teachers. They all arrive in the U.S. as equals and are all now scrambling to patch together whatever they can get.

Paul Jericho, the Associate Director for Programs at MCRC, toured me around the center, and showed me the room in the old church where refugees come to learn the skills for one of the largest employers of Erie’s refugees: the casino at the local Presque Isle Downs and Casino, which Jim wrote about here. Jericho, a casino dealer himself, is the perfect person to train the refugees. One of his former students has done so well at the casino that he is Jericho’s boss now, Jericho tells me with a chuckle.

Jericho says that refugees fit in well with the growing entrepreneurial spirit of Erie, exemplified by those who share the Radius CoWork space and are featured in the American Futures video here. New arrivals have started over 100 new businesses in Erie, said Jericho. We saw a number of small shops and businesses along Parade Street, like general stores, car repair shops, construction or repair companies.