COLUMBUS, Ohio — A new plan is being launched to welcome immigrants, refugees and New Americans to central Ohio. It’s called Central Ohio’s Plan for Welcoming Immigrants and Refugees. The roughly 60-page document lays out the work and research that went into coming up with the plan and the priorities reached.
“We’re excited to really lay down the groundwork to make a statement, not only just regionally, but nationally, that we are a welcoming community,” said Columbus City Council Member Emmanuel Remy. “This is a plan that is a living, breathing plan, so, as more people come to the table, the plan, it may change. And it will be a goal to be inclusive of all walks of life and all different refugee immigrants and New Americans that come into our community.”
The work on the plan was initially launched after Columbus was one of 10 communities chosen to receive a grant from Gateways for Growth in 2020. The joint effort among the Columbus City Council, Franklin County Commissioners and US Together would grow from there. During the past year or so, the plan was developed with the help of a steering committee made up of more than 20 people, 14 focus groups and four surveys.
“The goals are set universal so that really they benefit anyone if these strategies are used,” said Guadalupe A. Velasquez, managing director for Welcoming City. “The plan is going to help to expand that now, where we’re actually saying, okay, these are the areas where we need to work a little harder or address in a more specific way.”
Those areas that were prioritized in the plan are:
1. Equitable Economic and Workforce Development
2. Equitable Education
3. Connected, Safe, and Healthy Communities Founded on Social Justice
4. Equitable Access to Services, Resources, and ESL Classes
5. Civic Engagement, Government, and Leadership Development
The goal is to have all aspects of the community come together to implement the plan, from the government to non-profits to corporations.
“Integration is the newcomer and the receiving community working hand in hand,” Velasquez said. “That’s integration. It’s not, all the work is on the immigrant or refugee or newcomer that might be coming to Central Ohio, and it’s also not to rely on the government.”
Nadia Kasvin, the co-founder and director of US Together, said that while each newcomer has an individual story, some of the barriers are the same. The main issue many New Americans face is the language barrier.
“We have a lot of resources now in our community, but (the goal is) to make sure that people not just know about them but actually have meaningful access and how you can even express your needs if you cannot communicate, so language access is very important,” Kasvin said.
The implementation also will happen with the help of a $15,000 grant from Gateways for Growth. Remy’s city council office is matching that amount. And the hope is to get other local communities on board with the plan.
“It’s important that we get buy-in from all of our suburban partners and other municipalities that surround us because we know that they aren’t just living in the City of Columbus, they’re really living regionally, and so we want to make sure that everybody comes to the table and this is truly a regional plan,” Remy said.
So far, Kasvin said the response to the plan has been a positive one.
“People really expressed the gratitude about, you know, somebody cares,” Kasvin said. “We’re not on our own? Somebody cares? And this is really gratifying.”