WESTFIELD – The United States was built on the sweat of immigrants from around the world and is still the land of opportunity as new waves of immigrants are assimilated into our culture.
Westfield, in recent years, has become home to people from Eastern Europe, northwest Asia, South America, Africa and other part of the globe, brought to the city through placement by social service agencies.
These new members of the community are in need of a range of services, from educating their children in local school, to health issues specific to their place of origin.
The Board of Health, in conjunction with the School and Police Departments, has made a formal request to the two primary social service agencies involved in immigrant placement, the Jewish Family Services and the Lutheran Services, to meet on a formal basis.
“The board voted to make a formal request that the services meet quarterly with city agencies so we can better provide the services needed for the immigrant population,” Health Director Joseph Rouse said Friday. “We hope to establish lines of communication, open a dialogue because we’re interested in knowing up front about any special issues and what the social agencies are planning to do.
“Our primary issue to facilitate better communication about placement of refugees in the city so we can pre-access their needs,” Rouse said. “We’d like to know the numbers and areas people are coming from to determine what resources we’ll need to deal with them, putting those resources in place in advance of their arrival. It could be something as simple as having an interpreter to communicate with the refugees.
“The municipal agencies primarily impact by immigrant populations are the Health, Police and School departments, but we plan to ask other departments to identify issues and attend these meeting if they feel it is necessary,” Rouse said.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday MassINC’s Gateway Cities Innovation Institute released Going for Growth: Promoting Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Massachusetts Gateway Cities. The policy brief explores opportunities to leverage the energy immigrant-owned businesses bring to Gateway Cities, such as Westfield, as an economic development strategy.
“Immigrant-owned shops are already revitalizing downtowns in Gateway Cities across the state, said MassINC Research Director Benjamin Forman. “These small storefront businesses could become launching pads to larger enterprises, providing an even greater contribution to local and regional economic development. But immigrant entrepreneurs face unique barriers that could hold them back.”
“Together, public agencies and community organizations can help them overcome these hurdles,” Forman said. “They can also play a vital role in bridging cultural differences, integrating newcomers into a cohesive business community that works together to everyone’s benefit.”
This policy brief aims to provide Gateway City leaders exploring immigrant entrepreneurship strategies with a range of approaches and considerations,” he said.
The Gateway Cities Innovation Institute’s mission is to support the growth and renewal of the state’s regional urban centers with objective research and through the collaborative exchange of practice across cities.
