Rutland Welcomes came together soon after Mayor Chris Louras announced that the city was being considered as a resettlement site. But that was five months ago. In the interim, the group found itself in the somewhat awkward position of wanting to prepare for the arrival of refugees without knowing if it would actually happen.
They held a donation drive for furniture and household goods in August and continued to meet on a regular basis against the backdrop of an increasingly contentious debate over whether the city was prepared to take in refugees. Hunter Berryhill, a Rutland High School English teacher and member of Rutland Welcomes, said they kept a low profile in order to avoid intensifying the conflict. “We didn’t want to fight with our neighbors,” Berryhill said.
At the same time, they didn’t want to cede the floor to opponents of resettlement. Members regularly attended Board of Aldermen meetings and spoke out passionately in favor of refugees coming to Rutland. They met every other week at 6:30 a.m. and formed 19 different committees to address everything from housing and social services to community outreach and education. Still, it was difficult to keep the enthusiasm alive.
Marsha Cassell, a global studies mentor and English Language Learners teacher at the high school, said they’ve had to reinvigorate the volunteer base. “It’s a new phase,” she said. “Now that we’ve been officially approved, we’re experiencing another kind of wave of people wanting to donate.”
According to Cassell, the group has more than 100 active participants and nearly 1,900 Facebook members.
The public debate over resettlement may be over but divisions within the community remain. Rutland First, a volunteer group that has questioned Rutland’s capacity to take in refugees, maintains an active Facebook page and members have said they will exercise their power at the ballot box in March when Mayor Louras is up for re-election.
City Treasurer Wendy Wilton, a member of Rutland First, said the group had achieved its goal of raising concerns about the application process, particularly what they viewed as a lack of transparency, and providing the public with information.
Rutland First held several high profile public forums with outspoken opponents of refugee resettlement including controversial authors James Simpson and Philip Haney. The group also organized a petition drive seeking to put the question of resettlement up for a vote.
That effort was narrowly rejected by the Board of Aldermen, as were other petitions in a handful of surrounding towns including Castleton and Rutland Town.
The board didn’t allow a vote but expressed its dissatisfaction with the handling of the application process and voted in early July to send a letter to the State Department withholding its support of the program.
According to board member Sharon Davis, they are still seeking answers and have approved another letter to the State Department and the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program asking for information on the methodology used to determine the total number of refugees and how the board can have a more active role moving forward.
In addition they have asked for copies of the full application, which the State Department says is now available through the Freedom of Information Act.
“If the division in the community is going to start to close then we need these answers,” Davis said.
Wilton said more transparency and providing the board with the information it has requested would go a long way toward healing some of the rifts in the community. Otherwise she fears there will be lasting scars. “Because of the lack of transparency there’s a huge division in this town. And it isn’t going to go away.”
Alderman Chris Ettori said he’s reached out to Amila Merdzanovic, director of VRRP, but has yet to hear back. “I think she’s a little hesitant given the experience she’s had with the Board of Aldermen,” Ettori said. “We need to try to figure out how to make it work.”
Merdzanovic told VTDigger by email that the VRRP is “always happy to talk about the program.”
“We haven’t heard from the board formally since the announcement,” Merdzanovic wrote. “A couple of members have reached out and I’m sure we will be in communication as the program moves forward. If anyone has any questions they are welcome to contact me directly.”
Kay Jones, a member of Rutland Welcomes whose work with refugees goes back to the 1970s after she served as a social worker in Saigon, said the discord in Rutland was somewhat unique. Jones also did some consulting work with VRRP about 15 years ago and said she hadn’t encountered the same kind of visceral opposition to refugee resettlement.
Based on her past experience, however, she’s convinced the community will come together once the refugees start to arrive. “I think Rutland’s a wonderful town and, yes, there were some difficulties getting this launched but I think the vast majority of people will come together.”
Merdzanovic, who came through the program as a refugee 21 years ago and has worked with VRRP for more than a decade, said the volunteer support in Rutland has been particularly strong.
“We’ve always had volunteer support,” Merdzanovic said. “We couldn’t do the work we do if it wasn’t for the support of the community.” But, she added, the show of support in Rutland “was really unprecedented.”
VRRP is in the process of looking for office space in Rutland and hopes to open its doors in the next couple of months. They’ll have three full-time employees: a case manager, employment counselor, and case manager affiliated with Reach Up, the state’s employment and support program for low income families with children.
In addition VRRP will have on call staff at their Colchester office to assist with translation and interpretation services and will provide English language instruction in Rutland if needed.
Merdzanovic says VRRP will work closely with Rutland Welcomes and other interested groups in the city. She was in Rutland twice this week and met with members of the business community including the Department of Labor, Rutland Economic Development Corporation, and BROC. Next Tuesday she’ll be meeting with Rutland Welcomes to discuss the group’s role moving forward.
“We’ll talk about the phases of resettlement and the services we provide,” Merdzanovic said. “And then where Rutland Welcomes or volunteers could come in.”
VRRP provides a number of essential services from reception at the airport and assistance applying for Social Security or Medicaid to help finding housing and looking for work. Volunteers will undoubtedly have a role to play.
“I think it will take time to emerge,” said Jones, “and each family is going to be different.”
Berryhill says they plan to take their lead from VRRP as they transition from an advocacy role to preparing for the arrival of refugees. “Our goal is to be working under VRRP, with their guidance,” Berryhill said.
Meanwhile Rutland Welcomes has been refocusing its efforts. They’ve scaled back the number of committees from 19 to a more manageable five. They also appreciate that there are still concerns in the larger community and not everyone’s on board.
“Realistically, we need to take into consideration people’s fears, address them and mitigate them,” said Cassell.
Rutland Welcomes is confident that even those who oppose the program want to see it succeed.
“People on both sides do not want this to fail,” said Berryhill.