We wrap up our recent week-long look at refugees in upstate New York with an hour-long conversation. You can listen to the program above, recorded during WXXI's 1370 Connection Innovation Friday.
Upstate New York’s cities take in around 90 percent of the 3,500 refugees coming to the state each year.
As refugees become more established they transform neglected neighborhoods, open new businesses and establish services to provide support for the next wave of arrivals. They also face several unique challenges.
While studies put an overall positive spin on the economic impact of refugee arrivals, that doesn’t tell the complete story.
We put together stories around the state:
Refugee community pumping energy into post-industrial Utica
Refugees revitalize Rust Belt city of Buffalo
Rochester seeks refugees to step into gap in health care services
Refugees changing the face of an already diverse Syracuse Northside
Unique challenges for refugees becoming entrepreneurs
We also sat down with several teenage and young refugees now living in Utica, N.Y., a city where nearly a quarter of the population is now refugees and immigrants. Below are some excerpts of that conversation.
If you want to learn more about refugees in upstate New York, here are some links to frequently asked questions and studies done on the community:
New Zogby study finds Utica a welcoming community
Onondaga Citizens Leage: The World At Our Doorstep
Frequently Asked Questions from the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees
Hamilton College: The Fiscal Impact of Refugee Resettlement in Mohawk Valley
