Mayor Domenic Sarno's call for freeze on more refugees in Springfield draws rebuttals from organizations defending efforts to aid families

SPRINGFIELD ? A plea by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno asking the U.S. State Department to halt the resettlement of refugees in Springfield based on concerns they are draining school and municipal services drew rebuttals from area organizations on Wednesday, all defending their efforts to aid the families.

Sarno said the city is ?at a tipping point? in terms of receiving refugees and that a persistent influx has strained his housing, education and health and human services departments. While families receive public assistance, Sarno said he is unaware of any support funds cities receive for services for a population that is unlike most immigrant groups.

?These people have been traumatized, and can?t be placed in urban centers in America with a pat on the back and minimal support,? Sarno said.

The Lutheran Social Services of New England and the Jewish Family Service, which provide resettlement services in the Springfield region, aided by Catholic Charities and other groups, said they work closely with the families and denied the mayor?s contention that families are being placed in substandard housing.

In addition, the Rev. Susannah Crolius of South Congregational Church, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield said that Sarno erred in publicly stating that Catholic Charities was sending 156 more refugees to Springfield in coming weeks. The diocese said Catholic Charities does not resettle refugees, and Crolius said her group was only raising funds for the refugees, and they were not coming to Springfield.

Sarno, in a reply to Crolius, thanked her for the clarification.

The highest number of refugees in Western Massachusetts are placed in West Springfield and Springfield, according to State Department statistics. During the past three years, 1,216 refugees have been placed in West Springfield and 725 have been placed in Springfield.

Sarno, in a letter to the State Department?s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration on Tuesday, said the resettlement of refugees in recent years has led to many being placed in substandard housing with ?reprehensible conditions. In addition the School Department is experiencing a drain on its depleted resources due to an ?oversaturaration of refugees,? he said.

Superintendent of Schools Daniel J. Warwick said he fully supports the mayor's efforts "to seek relief for the City of Springfield from the continuous and increasing influx of refugee and immigrant populations.?

?For Springfield Public Schools, in particular, those increases place additional pressure and demands on resources that are already strained by issues that are inherent to a poor urban school district such as ours,? Warwick said.

There were 668 immigrant children entering the Springfield school system in 2013, as compared to 531 in 2012 and 435 in 2011, according to School Department statistics. Further information and further comments were not available, including what students were being counted as ?immigrants.?

Sarno said the resettlement has also led to great concerns about the safety of the refugees themselves and the city. He cited reports he has received from police, health and school officials.

The Lutheran organization, based in Worcester, ?does not place any refugees in uninhabitable or unsafe conditions, and regularly monitors its clients during their resettlement period,? said Angela Bovill, president and chief executive officer of the New England organization.

? We will continue to work collaboratively with local and state authorities to identify the best possible solutions for the City and its refugee families,? Bovill said.

Robert Marmor, president and CEO of the Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, said his organization will continue to work closely with federal and city officials and local providers on behalf of the refugee community.

The group ?does not place any individual or family in ?uninhabitable? residences or unsafe conditions,? he said. The group resettled about 200 individuals last year, including 68 percent placed in Springfield, he said.

Marmor said his own personal inspection of eight apartments found two in poor condition due to ?landlord negligence.? The staff has been ?advocating for these families to improve conditions,? he said.

Massachusetts Refugee Case Management Regional Demographics by masslive

Kathryn Buckley-Brawner, executive director of Catholic Charities, raised concerns about the mayor?s ?critical misstatement? regarding Catholic Charities role, adding: ?While we applaud his genuine concern for the well-being of these refugees, many who are escaping life-threatening and extremely dangerous situations of civil wars and mass executions, it is important that these refugees not be re-victimized and punished for the actions of unscrupulous local landlords and criminals, who pose a threat to all the most vulnerable in Springfield.?

In West Springfield, where Lutheran Social Services has settled many refugees, Mayor Gregory C. Neffinger said oftentimes the problems of overcrowding and health and sanitary issues arise around them.

?They are coming with limited resources. Often they are not familiar with our rules and codes. Oftentimes we have to work to educate them on those issues,? Neffinger said.

The Health Department, which oversees building code enforcement, usually deals with any problems, he said.

West Springfield School Superintendent Russell D. Johnston described a welcoming attitude in the public schools toward refugees.

?It is who we are. This is why we love West Springfield. We are a very diverse population,? Johnston said.

Springfield accepted an initial wave of Somali refugees beginning in 2003, when then-Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan rebuffed the influx for many of the reasons Sarno is citing now: a maxed-out social system where the poor were already slipping through the cracks in so many ways.

Many of the hundreds of African refugees who have arrived in Springfield and other U.S. locales are from the Somali Bantu tribe, reviled in their own country and driven out of their homes by tribal wars in the 1990s.

Staff reporters Stephanie Barry, Sandra Constantine, and Anne-Gerard Flynn contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2013/08/springfield_mayor_domenic_sarn_79.html

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