This commentary is by Dr. Pablo Bose, of Burlington and Dr. Thomas Huddleston, of Dummerston. Dr. Bose is a migration scholar and urban geographer; he is a professor of geography and geosciences, and he is the co-director of Global Studies at the University of Vermont. Dr. Huddleston is an international migration researcher and educator, and he serves as the University Partnerships Coordinator with the Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) Multicultural Community Center of Southern Vermont.
Vermont is quietly teaching the rest of America how even small rural communities can welcome refugees.
The University of Vermont and Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) Multicultural Community Center, along with other local partners, just published the key findings from our Vermont Leahy Rural Resettlement Impact Initiative in Brattleboro and Bennington, two of the very few rural counties in the U.S. engaged in rural resettlement. The 500+ resettled refugees from Afghanistan, DRC Congo, Eritrea and elsewhere are successfully developing new lives, friendships and a strong sense of belonging to Vermont.
Our research is complemented by the latest Vermonter Poll by the University of Vermont, which shows that most Vermonters want to continue to welcome refugees. With decreasing federal support for refugees and immigrants, Vermonters agree that the state, non-profits and communities will have to take on more responsibilities and they see and see employment and language learning as the keys to refugees’ success in the state.
Yet our interviews with southern Vermont’s new refugee communities tell a more nuanced story. While employment and language learning are also top priorities for the refugees we interviewed, refugees’ successes and challenges in these areas are tightly linked with “hidden barriers” that are less visible to the public.
Transportation is particularly urgent. Families often remain dependent on friends and volunteers for rides. Learning how to drive, purchase and maintain a car can open major opportunities in rural Vermont, especially for refugee women. Equally important are multilingual staff and refugee-led community spaces and services, which provide essential support for stay-at-home mothers and the elderly.
Affordable childcare is another hidden barrier — without it, mothers in particular struggle to attend ESL classes or hold down jobs. Stable housing and healthcare access are also closely linked to progress in employment and English classes.
Vocational training and higher education are also critical: many refugees arrive highly motivated but underemployed, especially refugee women. Over 50% of refugees in southern Vermont arrive with little to no English, and one-third without a high school education. Still, interest in English, career development, and higher education is high.
To address these challenges, Southern Vermont’s community-based organizations have been essential but stretched thin with federal funding cuts. Our research found that volunteers and refugee communities provide critical help, but they cannot fully meet the need on their own. Community partners worry that without additional funding and multilingual staff, most of Southern Vermont’s refugees will be left on their own.
The lesson is clear: refugee integration is not only about jobs or English — it is about the community resilience that makes them possible. The successes of Vermont’s rural refugee resettlement model offers hope that small towns can make refugees feel welcome.
To sustain success, we must invest in the practical supports that refugees themselves identify as essential: refugee-led services and spaces, drivers’ education, career pathways, affordable housing and childcare. The key, our research shows, is listening to refugees themselves and building up their skills and partnerships as new community leaders. As one Congolese refugee in Brattleboro put it, “Yeah, I’m a refugee, but I feel like there’s something Brattleboro can do to change that. Addressing these people like new Vermonters would be much better than addressing them like refugees.”
If Vermont listens to and resources refugee leaders and community partners, it can continue to lead.
