refugees in louisville?

November 22, 2007 11:15 PM

hi, friends. hope everyone in the states had a great holiday! i am interested in learning about louisville, kentucky as a possible destination for a young, refugee couple from liberia that have been living in san diego for two years.

i have some friends - recent immigrants from liberia in the past 2 years - who are currently living in san diego and looking to move. they are really interested in louisville, kentucky (a friend lives there), but before they quit their jobs (he's an airport security guard, she's a CNA) and pack up their kid (they have a one-year-old), they want to make sure there they will find affordable housing, good jobs that pay enough to improve their quality of life, and opportunities for further education and advancement (both have learned to read and write english in the past two years; the wife has ambitions of going to nursing school).

they've asked me to help them do a bit of research, but i'm struggling with how to search for answers for them. for my own part, i am a bit worried about the number of immigrants from west africa that may or may not be there (will they find a community?) and if they will be able to afford to live in a safe neighborhood or whether they will end up in another slum.

most info that i can find is based around opportunities for white color workers or entrepreneurs. what can a lower-income, immigrant couple expect when they reach louisville? where might one find realistic information about this?

posted by sacho to work & money (9 comments total)

In terms of the availability of government support (if ever necessary), and just the general climate for immigrants during the current national debate, I would never consider leaving California for Kentucky.
posted by awesomebrad at 3:30 AM on November 23, 2007

Check out DataPlace for basic stats about the area (mostly culled from the Census). It seems to have a lower-than-average percentage of foreign-born population.
posted by desjardins at 4:38 AM on November 23, 2007

I can't comment on Louisville per se, but I think there's a decent chance it could be much better than San Diego for a couple in their circumstances. Not sure why awesomebrad seems to think otherwise.

For one thing, the cost of living is much lower. For another thing, I hear that there are a lot of practicing Christians in Louisville. It's also closer to Africa than CA is, so there may be more Africans than on the West Coast, or at least more than you might think.

Check out the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement. Specifically, check out the Voluntary Agencies. These are the NGOs (usually religious, but that is just a fact of who is helping refugees in the US) that actually resettle refugees once the US government brings them here.

You might contact them and ask if they know anything about refugee resettlement in Louisville. Although this couple wouldn't be asking for assistance, the VolAgs might at least be able to give you real info about whether Liberians (or West Africans, or failing that, Africans) are settling there, and how they're doing.

Ask Kentucky Refugee Ministries if they have any thoughts on your question. Their literature says they have placed over 4000 refugees in Kentucky communities, including Liberians.

Check out this Wall Street Journal article: Bourbon, Baseball Bats and Now the Bantu. Sounds like there is affordable housing, lots of jobs, and a rapidly increasing refugee population.

Does their friend have friends? That should open lots of doors for them - they should immediately be part of his community.
posted by Amizu at 5:59 AM on November 23, 2007

I live in and absolutely love Louisville so my opinions are colored with my own personal biases. That said I think Louisville is very welcoming toward immigrants as a whole. There are several local agencies and organizations (Kentucky Refugee Ministries being one of the better known) that are very active in the community with regards to helping immigrants to get settled and engaged in the community. The one caveat is that a lot (maybe most) of them are affiliated with religion in one way or another. Most people don't consider this a bad thing but it's worth mentioning.

On the flip side there was a recent round up of illegal/undocumented immigrant restaurant workers here that has of course upset people.

On a more touchy-feely note there is a West African immigrant in Louisville who has a built a very successful business and is very well known and recognized in the community. I mention this because I have a friend, originally from Columbia, who is a professor of engineering here in the States. The Hispanic workers at the restaurants near his campus seem to be amazed and inspired when he answers their questions about what he does. So he tries his best to encourage them and to be on some level a role model that shows them that Hispanic men can succeed in this country. I would think that having a similar role model in terms of a West African immigrant would be good for your friends as well.

For more specific immigrant information I'd check with the aforementioned Kentucky Refugee Ministries, South Louisville Community Ministries and though it's probably a long shot but I would bet that the Pan-African studies department at the University of Louisville would have some useful contact information if not specific information to give out themself.


Feel free to email me if you have specific questions about the city and I'll happily answer them:

info at consuminglouisville.com
posted by mjones at 6:21 AM on November 23, 2007

I grew up in the greater Louisville area and have lived in Lexington (KY), Detroit area and Dublin, Ireland. Louisville is a nice Midwestern town of a decent enough size to have diversity and opportunities. My father worked in manufacturing for most of his career and interacted quite a bit with Louisville's Vietnamese community. I think Louisville's largest immigrant community (outside of the newest wave of Mexican immigration) is probably from Southeast Asia and specifically Vietnam. That community is clustered on the southwest side of the city around the manufacturing areas.

I haven't checked property prices super recently (I now live and teach in Eastern Kentucky), but Louisville was generally always less expensive than Lexington even though it's about three times bigger. They may not be buying a house anytime soon, but in Louisville I think it would be in reach.

As for education there's University of Louisville, which is a good regional public university with many non-traditional students and professional programs. There are also some two-year schools and at least one community college in the KCTCS system.

I think Louisville is a bit of a hidden gem amongst American cities. It's blue collar population is hanging in there (so there's some class diversity), but the city is not tied to any one industry, unlike Detroit. There is a strong theatre, visual arts and music scene. It's affordable. It blends Southern and Midwestern culture in a good way. It's not as sprawly as Lexington or Cincinnati, it's nearest neighbors. The drawbacks are that the Ohio Valley in general is very bad for allergies and it can be hot and humid (90+ degrees and 90+ humidity) in the Summer.

Good luck to your friends!
posted by Slothrop at 6:59 AM on November 23, 2007

Louisville is known for being very friendly to immigrants and especially refugee propulations. It is not your stereotypical southern town- it is very liberal, active, educated, and interesting. It is growing, and there are certainly economic opportunities (although I couldn't say more than in San Diego). UPS is headquartered there, there are several universities, a couple of hospitals, and a meatpacking plant. That's just off the top of my head, there are plenty of other blue collar opportunities as well.

If they are religious, that will be an extra plus because there are wonderful church communities that would love to have them as part of their community. There are many unwelcoming churches there, but for a southern city there are a surprising number of energetic, liberal congregations that could form a community for newcomers of all stripes.
posted by ohio at 8:11 AM on November 23, 2007

Louisville is actually very friendly to immigrants. KY Refugee Ministries is mentioned above, and there's also Catholic Charities Legal Immigration Services (for which I used to do a little volunteer work - and they don't have any religious requirements for their volunteers or their clients). There's at least one large apartment complex, the Americana, that works closely with the immigrant population, and the South End is home to a large number of immigrants, ethnic food stores (mostly Vietnamese and halal), etc.

There are immigrants of all origins - Vietnamese are probably the largest group, but there are also significant populations from Bosnia, Iraq, Haiti, and East Africa (Somalis and Sudanese), etc. Not so many West Africans, maybe, but I know of at least three families from that region (one even Liberian!) Oh, and of course large numbers of Mexicans and Central Americans, which I almost forgot to count as immigrants.

There are two immigration-themed festivals/events, WorldFest on the Green, and then something that the Americana sponsors (can't remember the name of the event, but it's in a shopping center with ValuMarket, a big supermarket, that works closely with the immigrant communities).
posted by dilettante at 2:17 PM on November 23, 2007

Not to derail, but @awesomebrad: have you ever been to Kentucky, or Louisville specifically? I agree that California is a pretty cool place but unless you have something more than a gut feeling to back up your suggestion, you are just repeating a derogatory stereotype about Kentucky that, while true in some parts of the state (just like it would be true in some parts of every state) is just plain false for the Louisville area, as other posters have mentioned.
posted by jtfowl0 at 9:03 PM on November 23, 2007

sorry for the late response - i'm blown away by all of these thoughtful answers! i feel much more equipped to help my friends make this big decision now - thank you all so much!
posted by sacho at 2:16 AM on November 24, 2007