Gay Scene
Apr.20.2010
When I started my college search, I had several criteria in mind; the college I chose had to be in an area where I could snowboard, participate in a quality writing program, and feel accepted as a lesbian. Attending Champlain College in Burlington, VT seemed like the perfect choice. After I visited, I fell in love. I quickly applied for the Professional Writing program and before I knew it, I was in Burlington-- land of liberal thinkers and ski bums.
It didn't take me long to realize that Burlington was missing a major piece of gay culture-- a gay bar. Considering how B-Town has such a gay-friendly reputation, I was pretty shocked to find this out. I grew up in Northern, NJ and even the nearby, small town of Boonton, NJ, population 8496, has a gay bar. And keep in mind that Northern NJ is distinctly more conservative than the Burlington area, as a whole.
Burlington has something that Northern NJ does not have, however-- a very close, tight-knit gay community. The accepting tendency of Vermonters in general bodes well for the LGBT group. The people I grew up with were not necessarily as accepting towards the gay lifestyle as Burlingtonites tend to be. It is also more or less a fact that the people of Burlington, gay or not, are infinitely friendlier in general than the Tri-State population.
The gay community here in Burlington has a small feel to it-- everyone knows everyone else. The college town aspect certainly contributes to this. Gay students are brought together through great LGBT clubs and organizations at Champlain, UVM, and St. Mike's, making it easier for gay and lesbians to meet one another. Gay freshmen immediately have an option of joining one of these organizations and feeling like they are a part of something right off the bat. Speaking as a native New Jerseyan, I guarantee you won't find the same friendly, community atmosphere in or around my hometown.
Many local gay and lesbian residents feel the same way about the gay scene.
"When I first got here to Burlington, I told my friends I wanted to open my own bar downtown and that it was going to be a gay bar without the label, and it was going to rock. Now that I'm coming close to graduating, I have realized that they already exist. It's about being gay friendly and not gay labeled," Dylan Kunkel, a senior at UVM involved in many of the on-campus LGBT organizations, attested.
Liz Batsford, Deputy Director of LGBT organization, the Samara Foundation of Vermont, had similar feelings to express:
"I don’t personally feel the need for a gay bar. I have gay friends and straight friends and like to socialize with all of them in bars that are generally welcoming and friendly."
The simple fact is that Burlington doesn't need a gay club to be a great place for the LGBT community. Northern NJ, and areas like it, may have the gay bars Burlington lacks, but many are missing the friendly, family-like gay community that Burlington boasts here. To me, and many of the gays and lesbians living here, that is far more important.
Burlington Gay Scene
Mar.02.2010
Burlington has always broadcast itself as a very progressive, open-minded community, welcoming to people of all races, creeds, colors, and religions. In particular, Burlington has a reputation for being gay-friendly. Just last month, the world’s leading LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual) publication, The Advocate, named Burlington the second “gayest city in America.” However, it lacks a key factor that every other city on that list has—a gay bar.
The title of the second gayest city in the U.S. is partially justifiable. Burlington is in fact very open-minded. On April 7, 2009, Vermont became the fourth state, after Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, to legalize gay marriage. The legislature over-ruled Governor Jim Douglas’ veto of the gay marriage bill and the law went into affect in September 2009.
The City of Burlington has numerous LGBT support systems with specific focuses and missions. RU12? and Outright Vermont are organizations downtown that both advocate for the rights of the gay community. All three colleges in the Burlington area—UVM, Champlain College, and St. Michael’s College—have some sort of LGBT support, which goes a long way in creating a safe environment for gay students.
Dylan Kunkel, a senior at UVM has been involved with UVM’s LGBTQA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Questioning, and Allies) Services since day one. Over the course of four years, he has worked with several LGBT programs at UVM, including Free2B, an LGBTQA Club on campus funded by the Student Government Association, and P.R.I.D.E (People Recognizing Identity Differences for Equality) housing program.
“I believe Burlington is a gay friendly community in the way that it is a young town, and with youth usually comes understanding and a thirst for knowledge,” Kunkel explained. “Burlington would be considered a liberal or democratic town and with that label comes a sense of security.”
Simply having a sense of security in a location does not necessarily make it a perfect place to live. The social factor is arguably as important as the acceptance factor when considering where to settle. The Burlington community may be accepting to the homosexual lifestyle, yet the gay community does not have a place of their own. Every other city mentioned in the Advocate’s “Gayest City” article has gay clubs—even the cities ranked much lower. True, Burlington is substantially smaller than every other city listed but, considering the almost obscene number of bars in Burlington’s downtown, it seems strange that not one bar is dedicated to the sprawling local gay community.
Burlington has not always been gay bar-less. For 22 years, the gay bar Pearl 135 on Pearl St. hosted the gay community at night. However, due to management issues, its doors were closed on June 3, 2006 and it was unceremoniously turned into a Papa John’s chain pizza shop. Three and a half years later and there has been no replacement bar.
Briefly, South Burlington hosted a gay locale called Two Friends Bistro. Opened on February 6, 2009, Two Friends was seemingly destined to doom from the start, partially because its location was so far from downtown, but also because it catered to such a narrow clientele. They were forced to shut their doors a few months later. Kunkel claims that they were unfriendly to the younger set and its customer base completely lacked college students.
“The atmosphere consisted of older men, most of which were friends of the owners, and only a handful of women,” he elaborated. “There was no dance floor, no drink specials, and no tolerance for fun. The bar missed the market, the market being the college crowd and women!”
What has resulted is an underground gay scene. Certain bars downtown, such as 3 Needs, Drink, and the Green Room, tend to attract a gay crowd on the weekends, but are still straight-oriented bars. There is no guarantee that the entire crowd will be gay. Higher Ground, in South Burlington, is the only place that does consistently hold gay-specific events. First Fridays and Third Saturdays every month are dance parties especially aimed at the gays and lesbians. Unfortunately, since the venue is not walking distance of downtown, a large portion of the community is left out.
The question then becomes, how does a gay person new to the scene know where to go? None of these bars advertise their gay crowd and Higher Ground does little to market their LGBT nights. Word of mouth and Facebook is the answer. Kunkel mentioned a Facebook group he checks to find where others in the gay community will be hanging out:
“There is a Facebook group that sends out invites for “Guerrilla Queer Bars,” he said. “[About once a month] a bar is chosen in Burlington that will be the token gay bar for the night.”
The most effective way someone new to the scene can learn what is up is to get out there and meet people, whether through some sort of LGBT organization or Facebook group.
“Meeting people equals learning about the scene,” Kunkel summed it up simply.
He would like to see bars stepping up to the plate and advertising themselves as gay friendly, however, an action that would hopefully weed out the small percentage of people in Burlington that are homophobic.
“It would be awesome to see every bar [that is] willing to consider themselves gay friendly throw a sticker up on their window or door.”
Despite the fact that the LGBT community does not have a gay-specific bar to go to, the accepting nature of Burlington usually allows homosexuals to freely express themselves in public without having to worry about discrimination.
“I think that it is important to have a place to call home, so to say, but at the same time, I think it is an even better feeling to know I can walk into about 60% of the bars downtown holding my boyfriend’s hand and not [feel] nervous,” Kunkel commented.
The open-mindedness of the majority of Burlington’s residents and bar owners demonstrates that a gay bar may not even be necessary. The gay scene may be underground in Burlington, but it is thriving nonetheless. According to Kunkel, “As for the lack of gay bars, that doesn’t mean the scene is dead.”
Google Fiber-Optic High-Speed Internet Coming to a Town Near Your?
Apr.27.2010
What do a Champlain College student, a self-proclaimed "mad scientist," and the governor of Vermont have in common? They have all banded together behind Vermont to compete against thousands of other communities nationwide to become one of the first locales Google chooses to test its state-of-the-art, fiber optic Internet system. As part of the application process, Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA) commissioned Champlain film student, Nick Stefani to create a short video. The video includes testimonials from Governor Jim Davis and other fiber optic advocates from the state.. By the end of 2010, Google will implement new fiber optics systems in the locations of their choosing, bringing 1-gigabyte per second Internet that will run 100 times faster than current broadband to a few lucky communities.
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was put in charge of constructing the National Broadband Plan in an effort to bring faster Internet to as many people in the U.S. as possible. To coincide with the plan, Google announced its own experiment back in February to provide between 50,000 to 500,000 people with a competitively priced, fiber optics system on a trial basis. The huge Internet corporation describes this experiment on their blog as an opportunity "to experiment and learn," as well as to share their findings with other fiber optic network developers.
Vermont seems to be gearing towards the fiber optics route anyways. Local organizations, such as East-Central Vermont Community Fiber Network (ECFiber), VTA, ValleyFiber, and Vermont Rural Broadband Project have teamed up to plan out a fiber optic wireless system for the entire state. ECFiber is a grassroots organization that has gathered support over the past two years from local municipalities to create locally-owned fiber optics systems. The VTA, created by the state government to bring high speed Internet to all of Vermonters, has partnered with Sovernet Inc. to acquire a $33 million federal broadband grant to install a statewide fiber optics system. Recently, FairPoint Communciations, a wireless supplier out of Charlotte, NC, announced they were switching from their initial plan to create above-ground towers in Vermont to installing a fiber optics wire system instead.
Progress, however, has been slow in implementing these systems, partially due to the economic slump the U.S. fell into back in 2008. ECFiber has struggled with funding after loans fell through, for example. Governor Douglas has been rewarding fiber optic start-up grants here and there to communities for several years now. In October 2009, Vermont received a $69 million federal grant that went to creating Smart Grid technology-- creating more efficient electric utilities, including building a fiber optics system.
Another challenge is the remoteness of many Vermont communities. The question of whether or not it would be financially beneficial to bring the high speed Internet to every Vermonter is legitimate. However, Loredo Sola, ECFiber’s Governing Board Chair, is convinced that it is. “Universal coverage is economically feasible,” he said. “Vermont municipalities can build a self-supporting FTTH (Fiber To The Home) network covering the entire state.”
Competition for this Google opportunity is intense after 1100 communities across the country applied, but Sola believes Vermont stands a chance due in part to its past working relationship with Google. “It is important to note that Google has embraced the fundamental goal of ECFiber, namely to build a financially self supporting FTTH network with universal coverage and open access,” he explained. “We are part of four different Google network applications.”
For now, Vermonters will just have to sit tight until Google makes the big announcement later this year.
Burlington Refugee Population
Apr.26.2010
To an outsider looking in, the diverse array of refugees that arrive in Burlington are finally able to leave all of their old troubles behind in their home country and embark on a new life of hope and opportunity. While this is certainly true in many respects, refugees new to the area face an entirely new set of challenges.
Refugees from all over the world have been starting life anew in Vermont for years. Chittenden County hosts the vast majority of the new arrivals with Burlington seeing the heaviest influx of refugees from various nations such as Bhutan, Myanmar, Somalia, and Congo. A very large chunk of these refugees come from African nations. The Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV), located in the North End of Burlington, provides services especially to the African community through various programs including case management, home visits to new arrivals, men's and women's groups, and interpreter services.
It is easy to see how the refugee population enriches the cultural diversity of Burlington by simply walking around the city's streets. The North End in particular is dotted with various ethnic grocery stores and restaurants, as well as African women dressed in their traditional, colorful dress. Dozens of unique languages can be overheard at the bus stops, in restaurants, on Church Street, at the waterfront. To say these ethnic influences stand out in the drastically white city of Burlington is an understatement, and one that makes it particularly difficult for new Vermonters from half way around the world to fit into their new surroundings.
The combination of language barriers and extreme culture differences that new refugees face in comparison to the locals creates an invisible wall to belonging that is difficult to surmount without assistance. Finding themselves unable to communicate or relate with the population of white Vermonters, refugees often only communicate within their own cultural circles and fail to assimilate fully into society.
On top of many refugees' inability to read, write, and understand English, many of them lack the basic skills needed for most jobs. This is often due to any number of hardships they may have experienced in their native lands that prevented them from learning any job skills necessary for life in the Western world. In today's poor economy, the refugee community has been hit the hardest, currently at an over 80% unemployment rate. The cultural barrier on top of the constant stress of having little money and having to hunt for jobs in this economy puts extreme strain on local refugee families.
Luckily, there are a couple of local organizations with the mission to help assist new refugees in settling. The Vermont Resettlement Program (VRRP), based in Colchester, works with refugees to "defend human rights, promote self-sufficiency and education, and forge community partnerships through a full range of services and programs." Heavily volunteer-driven, VRRP focuses on helping refugees-- Bhutanese, Burmese, Iraqi and Somali people primarily-- reach self-sufficiency within eight months and learn English and find jobs for up to five years.
The O'Brien Community Center in Winooski is another great resource for refugees. Although the Center's services are for anyone in the community to use as needed, the area's refugees make up a large part of the make up of the Center's visitors. The O'Brien Center also offers English-language classes and community meetings and potluck suppers to help facilitate the refugees' sense of belonging within the community.
"There's a wide spectrum of people who come in here. At the beginning of the day, there's the English language learning course," Melody McKnight, Events and Facilities Coordinator for O'Brien said. She mentioned refugees from Nepal, India, Tanzania, and Somalia that use the Center and also noted the diversity of the kids that participate in their Teen Night and After School programs. "I just found out that one-in-six Winooski kids come and the majority of them that do come-- two-thirds of them I would estimate-- are immigrants or refugees."
New Americans can particularly benefit from the nutrition class offered at the O'Brien Center. The climate in Vermont could not be more opposite of the climates most of the refugees hail from. Their traditional, native food is not necessarily available here. It is important for new refugees to learn how to fix nutritious meals with unfamiliar foods.
The Refugee Health Program, an offshoot of the Vermont Department of Health, also offers nutrition education as well as an array of services to "promote the physical and mental well being of refugees living in Vermont." Many of the refugees that arrive in Vermont come to flee from the violence in there home countries. The nightmares do not necessarily end once they reach safety, however. Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome and physical disease and injury is very common to newcomers. The Refugee Health Program does its best to assist these refugees in the best way possible, but not all asylum seekers reach out for the help they need. In some cases, women go untreated due to cultural rules that forbid male doctors to touch them.
Once refugees reach the safety of Vermont, the old challenges they faced in their old countries are replaced by new challenges. Organizations like AALV, VRRP, the O'Brien Center, and the Refugee Health Program go a long way in alleviating some of these challenges, but more groups like this are necessary to help the growing refugee population feel truly at home and happy in Vermont.
Hal Colston, Community Service professor at Champlain College and founder of the non profit Good News Garage, meets refugees on a regular basis through the Neighborkeepers meetings at the O'Brien Center. Colston created Neighborkeepers with the goal build meaningful relationships between people within the community and to help them achieve adequate resources to survive. Colston feels that these new Americans are not receiving as much assistance as they need.
"They'll get some [government assistance] when they first get here, but it's only eight months and that's it and they're on their own." Eight months is rarely enough time to learn English, find a job, and truly become part of a foreign community.
On a positive note, however, Colston spoke on the advantage these refugees bring with them-- a strong sense of family and togetherness, as well as closeness to nature that is part of their culture. "My sense is that people that live close to the earth, where they grow their food and [have a] visceral, hands-on approach to living, seem to do much, much better with getting on their feet, getting goals, accomplishing them, and making connections," he explained. "They may be lacking resources like financial resources, or maybe even emotional or physical [resources], but they have this sense of pulling in other support from their community."
Hal Colston, Community Service professor at Champlain College and founder of the non profit Good News Garage, meets refugees on a regular basis through the Neighborkeepers meetings at the O'Brien Center. Colston created Neighborkeepers with the goal build meaningful relationships between people within the community and to help them achieve adequate resources to survive. Colston feels that these new Americans are not receiving as much assistance as they need.
"They'll get some [government assistance] when they first get here, but it's only eight months and that's it and they're on their own." Eight months is rarely enough time to learn English, find a job, and truly become part of a foreign community.
On a positive note, however, Colston spoke on the advantage these refugees bring with them-- a strong sense of family and togetherness, as well as closeness to nature that is part of their culture. "My sense is that people that live close to the earth, where they grow their food and [have a] visceral, hands-on approach to living, seem to do much, much better with getting on their feet, getting goals, accomplishing them, and making connections," he explained. "They may be lacking resources like financial resources, or maybe even emotional or physical [resources], but they have this sense of pulling in other support from their community."
Apr.27.2010
What do a Champlain College student, a self-proclaimed "mad scientist," and the governor of Vermont have in common? They have all banded together behind Vermont to compete against thousands of other communities nationwide to become one of the first locales Google chooses to test its state-of-the-art, fiber optic Internet system. As part of the application process, Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA) commissioned Champlain film student, Nick Stefani to create a short video. The video includes testimonials from Governor Jim Davis and other fiber optic advocates from the state.. By the end of 2010, Google will implement new fiber optics systems in the locations of their choosing, bringing 1-gigabyte per second Internet that will run 100 times faster than current broadband to a few lucky communities.
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was put in charge of constructing the National Broadband Plan in an effort to bring faster Internet to as many people in the U.S. as possible. To coincide with the plan, Google announced its own experiment back in February to provide between 50,000 to 500,000 people with a competitively priced, fiber optics system on a trial basis. The huge Internet corporation describes this experiment on their blog as an opportunity "to experiment and learn," as well as to share their findings with other fiber optic network developers.
Vermont seems to be gearing towards the fiber optics route anyways. Local organizations, such as East-Central Vermont Community Fiber Network (ECFiber), VTA, ValleyFiber, and Vermont Rural Broadband Project have teamed up to plan out a fiber optic wireless system for the entire state. ECFiber is a grassroots organization that has gathered support over the past two years from local municipalities to create locally-owned fiber optics systems. The VTA, created by the state government to bring high speed Internet to all of Vermonters, has partnered with Sovernet Inc. to acquire a $33 million federal broadband grant to install a statewide fiber optics system. Recently, FairPoint Communciations, a wireless supplier out of Charlotte, NC, announced they were switching from their initial plan to create above-ground towers in Vermont to installing a fiber optics wire system instead.
Progress, however, has been slow in implementing these systems, partially due to the economic slump the U.S. fell into back in 2008. ECFiber has struggled with funding after loans fell through, for example. Governor Douglas has been rewarding fiber optic start-up grants here and there to communities for several years now. In October 2009, Vermont received a $69 million federal grant that went to creating Smart Grid technology-- creating more efficient electric utilities, including building a fiber optics system.
Another challenge is the remoteness of many Vermont communities. The question of whether or not it would be financially beneficial to bring the high speed Internet to every Vermonter is legitimate. However, Loredo Sola, ECFiber’s Governing Board Chair, is convinced that it is. “Universal coverage is economically feasible,” he said. “Vermont municipalities can build a self-supporting FTTH (Fiber To The Home) network covering the entire state.”
Competition for this Google opportunity is intense after 1100 communities across the country applied, but Sola believes Vermont stands a chance due in part to its past working relationship with Google. “It is important to note that Google has embraced the fundamental goal of ECFiber, namely to build a financially self supporting FTTH network with universal coverage and open access,” he explained. “We are part of four different Google network applications.”
For now, Vermonters will just have to sit tight until Google makes the big announcement later this year.
Burlington Refugee Population
Apr.26.2010
To an outsider looking in, the diverse array of refugees that arrive in Burlington are finally able to leave all of their old troubles behind in their home country and embark on a new life of hope and opportunity. While this is certainly true in many respects, refugees new to the area face an entirely new set of challenges.
Refugees from all over the world have been starting life anew in Vermont for years. Chittenden County hosts the vast majority of the new arrivals with Burlington seeing the heaviest influx of refugees from various nations such as Bhutan, Myanmar, Somalia, and Congo. A very large chunk of these refugees come from African nations. The Association of Africans Living in Vermont (AALV), located in the North End of Burlington, provides services especially to the African community through various programs including case management, home visits to new arrivals, men's and women's groups, and interpreter services.
It is easy to see how the refugee population enriches the cultural diversity of Burlington by simply walking around the city's streets. The North End in particular is dotted with various ethnic grocery stores and restaurants, as well as African women dressed in their traditional, colorful dress. Dozens of unique languages can be overheard at the bus stops, in restaurants, on Church Street, at the waterfront. To say these ethnic influences stand out in the drastically white city of Burlington is an understatement, and one that makes it particularly difficult for new Vermonters from half way around the world to fit into their new surroundings.
The combination of language barriers and extreme culture differences that new refugees face in comparison to the locals creates an invisible wall to belonging that is difficult to surmount without assistance. Finding themselves unable to communicate or relate with the population of white Vermonters, refugees often only communicate within their own cultural circles and fail to assimilate fully into society.
On top of many refugees' inability to read, write, and understand English, many of them lack the basic skills needed for most jobs. This is often due to any number of hardships they may have experienced in their native lands that prevented them from learning any job skills necessary for life in the Western world. In today's poor economy, the refugee community has been hit the hardest, currently at an over 80% unemployment rate. The cultural barrier on top of the constant stress of having little money and having to hunt for jobs in this economy puts extreme strain on local refugee families.
Luckily, there are a couple of local organizations with the mission to help assist new refugees in settling. The Vermont Resettlement Program (VRRP), based in Colchester, works with refugees to "defend human rights, promote self-sufficiency and education, and forge community partnerships through a full range of services and programs." Heavily volunteer-driven, VRRP focuses on helping refugees-- Bhutanese, Burmese, Iraqi and Somali people primarily-- reach self-sufficiency within eight months and learn English and find jobs for up to five years.
The O'Brien Community Center in Winooski is another great resource for refugees. Although the Center's services are for anyone in the community to use as needed, the area's refugees make up a large part of the make up of the Center's visitors. The O'Brien Center also offers English-language classes and community meetings and potluck suppers to help facilitate the refugees' sense of belonging within the community.
"There's a wide spectrum of people who come in here. At the beginning of the day, there's the English language learning course," Melody McKnight, Events and Facilities Coordinator for O'Brien said. She mentioned refugees from Nepal, India, Tanzania, and Somalia that use the Center and also noted the diversity of the kids that participate in their Teen Night and After School programs. "I just found out that one-in-six Winooski kids come and the majority of them that do come-- two-thirds of them I would estimate-- are immigrants or refugees."
New Americans can particularly benefit from the nutrition class offered at the O'Brien Center. The climate in Vermont could not be more opposite of the climates most of the refugees hail from. Their traditional, native food is not necessarily available here. It is important for new refugees to learn how to fix nutritious meals with unfamiliar foods.
The Refugee Health Program, an offshoot of the Vermont Department of Health, also offers nutrition education as well as an array of services to "promote the physical and mental well being of refugees living in Vermont." Many of the refugees that arrive in Vermont come to flee from the violence in there home countries. The nightmares do not necessarily end once they reach safety, however. Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome and physical disease and injury is very common to newcomers. The Refugee Health Program does its best to assist these refugees in the best way possible, but not all asylum seekers reach out for the help they need. In some cases, women go untreated due to cultural rules that forbid male doctors to touch them.
Once refugees reach the safety of Vermont, the old challenges they faced in their old countries are replaced by new challenges. Organizations like AALV, VRRP, the O'Brien Center, and the Refugee Health Program go a long way in alleviating some of these challenges, but more groups like this are necessary to help the growing refugee population feel truly at home and happy in Vermont.
Hal Colston, Community Service professor at Champlain College and founder of the non profit Good News Garage, meets refugees on a regular basis through the Neighborkeepers meetings at the O'Brien Center. Colston created Neighborkeepers with the goal build meaningful relationships between people within the community and to help them achieve adequate resources to survive. Colston feels that these new Americans are not receiving as much assistance as they need.
"They'll get some [government assistance] when they first get here, but it's only eight months and that's it and they're on their own." Eight months is rarely enough time to learn English, find a job, and truly become part of a foreign community.
On a positive note, however, Colston spoke on the advantage these refugees bring with them-- a strong sense of family and togetherness, as well as closeness to nature that is part of their culture. "My sense is that people that live close to the earth, where they grow their food and [have a] visceral, hands-on approach to living, seem to do much, much better with getting on their feet, getting goals, accomplishing them, and making connections," he explained. "They may be lacking resources like financial resources, or maybe even emotional or physical [resources], but they have this sense of pulling in other support from their community."
Hal Colston, Community Service professor at Champlain College and founder of the non profit Good News Garage, meets refugees on a regular basis through the Neighborkeepers meetings at the O'Brien Center. Colston created Neighborkeepers with the goal build meaningful relationships between people within the community and to help them achieve adequate resources to survive. Colston feels that these new Americans are not receiving as much assistance as they need.
"They'll get some [government assistance] when they first get here, but it's only eight months and that's it and they're on their own." Eight months is rarely enough time to learn English, find a job, and truly become part of a foreign community.
On a positive note, however, Colston spoke on the advantage these refugees bring with them-- a strong sense of family and togetherness, as well as closeness to nature that is part of their culture. "My sense is that people that live close to the earth, where they grow their food and [have a] visceral, hands-on approach to living, seem to do much, much better with getting on their feet, getting goals, accomplishing them, and making connections," he explained. "They may be lacking resources like financial resources, or maybe even emotional or physical [resources], but they have this sense of pulling in other support from their community."
