The seed for this project was planted in early 2002, when we had

the good fortune to discover, in the new books section of the

Grand Rapids Public Library, Mary Pipher’s immensely thoughtful

and thought-provoking book, The Middle of Everywhere: The

World’s Refugees Come to Our Town. We were struck by Pipher’s

insightful analysis of the challenges that refugees face in their efforts

to resettle in the United States – so much so that we responded

to a local refugee-serving agency’s request for volunteer mentors

(in Pipher’s words, "cultural brokers").

Our subsequent exposure to the myriad issues that confront

refugees and immigrants in Grand Rapids led to the desire to be

involved in systems change related to newcomer issues. We are

grateful that Dyer-Ives Foundation embraced the idea of a project

aimed at raising awareness of the contributions that newcomers

make to our community, the ways in which we as a community

support their resettlement efforts, and the possibilities for more

effectively leveraging the assets of newcomers.

We thank the many individuals and organizations who provided both

information and inspiration for this report. We are especially grateful

to the following local organizations for their tireless efforts in providing

services for newcomers and for their generosity in sharing their time

and resources in support of this project.

We thank the many people who shared information in meetings and

telephone conversations, helping us piece together a picture of various

aspects of the newcomer support system in Grand Rapids.

Dona Abbott, Bethany Christian Services

Brad Allen, Lutheran Social Services of Michigan

Lynda Bar, Lutheran Social Services of Michigan

Thomasine Bugala, Grand Rapids Dominicans

Susan Cook, Catholic Human Development Outreach

Dejan Dokic, Lutheran Social Services of Michigan

Martha Gonzalez-Cortes, Hispanic Center of Western Michigan

Jotham Ippel, Bethany Christian Services

Susan Ledy, Kent County Literacy Council

Pat Lipetsky, Grand Valley State University

Naomi Madsen, Catholic Human Development Outreach

Rob Miller, Catholic Human Development Outreach

Fátima Nieves, Grand Rapids Community College

Papa N’Jai, Catholic Human Development Outreach

Gordon Olson, Grand Rapids Public Library

Penny Pestle, Delta Strategy

Sheila Rettig, Crossing the Communication Divide, Metropolitan Hospital

J.J. Scott, Kent County Health Department

Elaine Wahab, C.A.L.L. Immigration Services

Terry Walsh, Catholic Human Development Outreach

Mary Watterson, Bethany Christian Services

We thank Dr. Julia Guevara of the Grand Valley State University School

of Social Work for her leadership in coordinating a survey of refugeesponsoring

congregations; GVSU social work students Dawn Heartwell,

Brooke Ter Haar, and Nathan Sluiter for their data analysis work on

the project; and staff members from Bethany Christian Services, Catholic

Human Development Outreach, and Lutheran Social Services of

Michigan for their support of the survey project.

In developing this report, we have benefited from – and been

significantly influenced by – a variety of initiatives in other communities,

as well as efforts of national and international organizations. We

appreciate their valuable contributions in support of immigrants

and refugees.

We thank Trudy and Richard Abraham for generously sharing lessons

learned in their roles as cultural brokers.

Finally, we express our heartfelt thanks to Akot Rieth and Juba Rieth,

whose life journey has brought them from Sudan to Grand Rapids and

whose friendship has enriched our lives beyond words.