The Refugee Services Collaborative of Greater Cleveland wants people to know that refugees aren’t a negative force on the economy. In fact, they’re the opposite.
“They’re a boost to the economy,” said Danielle Drake, chairwoman of the public affairs committee for the collaborative.
Drake also is the community relations manager for Us Together Inc., one of the three refugee resettlement agencies in the collaborative. The collaborative was founded in 2011 and includes a variety of education and government resource groups, in addition to refugee resettlement organizations Us Together, Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services, and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants’ Cleveland office.
Last Thursday, Sept. 22, the collaborative held a showing of four short documentaries [see links to two of the films below] highlighting the effect of refugees on the economy as part of Welcoming Week, which Drake described as a national initiative designed to get American-born individuals to get to know their refugee and immigrant neighbors.
Read the full article in Crain’s Cleveland Business.
Watch Crossing the Bridge
Watch Beating the Odds