Pablo Bose is a professor in the Department of Geography and Geosciences at the University of Vermont, where he is director of the Global and Regional Studies Program, and Thomas Huddleston is university partnerships advisor with ECDC Vermont. For more information or any inquiries about their report, contact Bose at [email protected].
BURLINGTON-Vermonters are proud of their reputation of being good neighbors and welcoming to strangers. The latest Vermonter Poll (2024) from the Center for Rural Studies at the University of Vermont confirms that. Most Vermonters want to support resettled refugees, even despite the federal bans and funding cuts.
But polls tell only part of the story.
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Our research with refugees in Brattleboro and Bennington - rural small towns that began resettling newcomers in 2021 - shows that local volunteers and friendships can make a major difference in refugees' lives.
The University of Vermont and ECDC Multicultural Community Center, along with other local partners, just published the key findings from our Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships' refugee research in Brattleboro and Bennington, two of the very few rural counties in the U.S. engaged in rural resettlement.
The 500 resettled refugees, from Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, and elsewhere, are successfully developing new lives, friendships, and a strong sense of belonging to Vermont. Even without the many employment, housing, and community opportunities of a big city, refugees in rural Vermont are doing as well as - if not better than - refugees in the traditional urban gateways.
Why? Because of the community support they receive here.
As one Yemeni refugee in Brattleboro put it: "The first thing we had here when we came to the United States [...] was the hardship. [Then] the language itself, something else that we didn't know. [And] we didn't recognize anybody here. [...] But after time, I think, we recognize two volunteers, and we socialize with them.
"We found that the people here of Brattleboro [are] very kind and helpful. They really made us feel that we are safe and we are among our brothers and family."
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Our year of intensive, community-based research and collaboration looked at the experiences of refugees placed into rural towns in southern Vermont. This initiative has brought together four main partners - the University of Vermont (UVM), the Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC), the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC), and the School for International Training/World Learning (SIT/WL) - to develop a unique internship and research model.
Over the course of the last year, a group of advanced undergraduate students learned and worked in a hands-on laboratory on rural experiences.
Students combined summer service-learning internships in Brattleboro and Bennington with a year-long community-based, student-staffed research project. This initiative emerged out of productive conversations among the partners regarding the challenges in southern Vermont: an aging population and a significant labor shortage, as well as issues with housing, employment, transportation and economic development. Each of the partners brought their own particular questions to the project:
• ECDC asked what opportunities and challenges might exist for the resettlement of refugees in rural areas?
• SIT/WL asked what the viability might be in using campus dorms as transitional housing for refugees?
• BDCC asked what potential there might be for using resettlement as a driver for regional economic development?
• UVM asked how effective is a model that combines frontline internship placements with applied research?
Through interviews, surveys, site visits, and a review of administrative data, our team found that the experience of refugees resettled in southern Vermont was by and large positive, both from their own perspective and that of the volunteers and agency staff who supported them.
At the same time, challenges became clear, especially in transportation and access to culturally significant resources, as well as a mismatch between education and employment opportunities.
This project demonstrates that refugee resettlement can work in rural small-towns as well as - if not better than in - urban areas, but only if the community can bring together all four key factors of rural refugee resilience: 1) small-town belonging, 2) local volunteers/networks, 3) refugee community-building, and 4) community-based services.
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Here are 10 of the simplest and most effective ways you can help refugees in our community here in southern Vermont, drawn directly from our research findings:
1. Volunteer with community-based organizations. These vital services partner with volunteers to help with resettlement and build friendship across cultures and generations.
2. House-hunt or rent to refugees. Housing stability is one of the greatest obstacles for refugees to stay in Vermont and progress with their life goals. Volunteers, with their community reputation and networks, can open doors for refugee renters and homebuyers.
3. Offer long-distance rides. Refugees who cannot drive need to get to specialized medical or legal appointments, go to culturally appropriate shopping or religious spaces, or visit family and discover Vermont's beauty.
4. Teach someone how to drive, purchase, and maintain a car. Many refugees in Vermont can't rely on rides or public transportation to get to work, English classes, or their children's school. For refugees who never drove, especially women, drivers' education is perhaps the single biggest gift that volunteers can offer.
5. Donate to refugee-led initiatives and spaces. These new community leaders provide crucial multilingual expertise, education, and social connections for isolated stay-at-home mothers, elderly people, and youth.
6. Mentor professionals interested in your area of work. Many refugees in Vermont work far below their level of education. Mentorship helps them to understand and progress with new training and career opportunities.
7. Sign up as a conversation partner. Learning a new language takes time, practice, and patience. Simple conversations make a big difference.
8. Tutor refugee youth. Refugee families feel better about their children's education and access more after-school and summer activities, thanks to volunteer support.
9. Help navigate health care. Refugees told us that U.S. health care was one of their greatest sources of confusion - appointments, insurance, and specialized services. Teaching refugees how to access care - and not just doing it for them - builds their resilience, especially with the cuts ahead from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
10. Reach out to stay-at-home, single parents and the elderly. These people feel the most isolated and have fewer friends and opportunities. Connecting them to local activities strengthens their families and creates real community.
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The message from our research is simple: Integration isn't just about policies, it's about people.
Even in today's America, volunteers, refugee leaders, and local organizations can come together to make our refugee neighbors and rural towns more resilient for the future.
Are you interested in volunteering with refugees in southern Vermont? Check out ECDC Vermont on Facebook or at ecdcvt.org.
This Voices Viewpoint was submitted to The Commons.
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