The late afternoon sun illuminated the sparse but cozy rooms on the upper-floor of the Christ Lutheran church in downtown Baltimore. The white walls are adorned with Afghan rugs, paintings or pieces of ceramic — most are furnished with a table and a computer or two.
These half a dozen-or-so rooms make up the newest Welcome Center: a space operated by the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services as a “one-stop shop” to connect foreign-born Americans to services they might need at any part of their immigration journey — although there is an emphasis on serving refugee and asylum seekers. The center had its official ribbon-cutting on Tuesday, but its staff and volunteers have already been hard at work for weeks getting new residents settled.
Those services could include anything from help with a court date for a new asylum seeker or connecting a longer-term resident with job training to freshen up their skills to advance up the economic ladder, explained Kevin Meadowcroft, manager of the Baltimore Welcome Center. “It's sort of like the Maslow's hierarchy of needs,” he said.
The staff has on-site caseworkers fluent in different languages including Spanish and Haitian-Creole. They can offer help with legal assistance, healthcare and housing, and there’s even a room where referred people can receive mental health counseling.
“That’s one thing that's generally tough to access,” said Meadowcroft. “We're really happy to have it here, because a lot of asylum seekers have experienced a lot of trauma on their journey and before their journey.”
Approximately eight percent of Baltimore City residents are immigrants. In Baltimore County that number is even higher at 12.3%, according to U.S. Census data. Maryland took in 450 refugees between October 2022 and May of 2023, according to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
“We want immigrants and refugees who have sacrificed everything to come to this country to do better than survive. We want them to thrive,” Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO, LIRS, told the crowd gathered in the Christ Lutheran church ceremonial hall for the ribbon cutting ceremony. She says that immigrants can be vital to filling the 200,000 job openings in Maryland
LIRS, one of the largest faith-based immigration service groups, already operates six welcome centers across the country.
“I'm excited that now when I receive calls from our new American residents… in Baltimore County… I know where to send them to,” said Giuliana Valencia-Banks, Baltimore County’s first immigration affairs coordinator.
About 60 people have already received services through the Welcome Center in Baltimore.
LIRS is hoping that the people coming in through those doors will end up like Naomi Asimba, an immigrant from Kenya who moved to Baltimore in 2022. She spoke during Tuesday’s opening ceremony. During the pandemic, she floundered with trying to find stable work and financial assistance programs, but they became unmanageable. Asimba received an eviction notice and reached out to LIRS who was able to connect her with a caseworker and financial aid. Asimba was able to stay housed and get job training for her career as a global project manager that now supports her and her son.
“Through this process, I felt empowered,” she said.
