About MEIRS

BEGINNINGS
Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services (MEIRS) began in 2008 as a dream shared by a group of young Somali Bantus who were living and working in Lewiston, Maine. They saw a desperate need to help refugee youth who recently came from refugee camps who were struggling to adjust the life in the U.S. These youth were struggling academically, and the school system was not adequately working with refugees who never had prior education in their home countries or refugee camps and spoke little to no English.

Starting out of a blue van holding athletic equipment, the Somali Bantu Youth Association of Maine (SBYAM) was created to provided sports and academic program for refugee youth. SBYAM created its first organized soccer program to keep youth engaged and off the streets. SBYAM also created “Help or Get Help” program where youth from various school grades and college students got together to help each other with their schoolwork. The graduation rate at Lewiston High School among refugee youth was very small and many youth were dropping out of high school or aging out. Due to SBYAM programming, the rate of Somali youth graduating rose to almost 97% in eight years.

Starting out of a blue van holding athletic equipment, the Somali Bantu Youth Association of Maine (SBYAM) was created to provided sports and academic program for refugee youth. SBYAM created its first organized soccer program to keep youth engaged and off the streets. SBYAM also created “Help or Get Help” program where youth from various school grades and college students got together to help each other with their schoolwork. The graduation rate at Lewiston High School among refugee youth was very small and many youth were dropping out of high school or aging out. Due to SBYAM programming, the rate of Somali youth graduating rose to almost 97% in eight years.

After creating successful sports and academic programs, SBYAM realized that by also supporting parents, it could better serve youth. Two of the biggest challenges for parents were language and gaining citizenship. SBYAM started Survival English and citizenship classes where parents could learn basic English and the citizenship/naturalization process. The program became a success: parents who went through the SBYAM citizenship program have had a 100% passing rate in their naturalization interviews.

As SBYAM gained more knowledge of the needs of the community, it became increasingly apparent that there was a huge presence of trauma within the immigrant and refugee population, yet many families were refusing mental health services offered in school or at their doctor’s office. To address the mental health issues, SBYAM started providing culturally appropriate mental health case management services to bridge the mental health gap and the stigma many families felt about mental health treatment. Families started accepting mental health services for their children, and themselves.

In 2015, SBYAM changed its name to Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services (MEIRS), signaling its move to serve more diverse populations. To better serve its clients, MEIRS also purchased its own building to provide culturally appropriate programs and services and create safe space for families and youth to come and feel at home.

DURING COVID-19
COVID-19 disproportionately affected refugee, immigrant, and BIPOC communities. As many organizations closed their doors or went online, MEIRS ramped up its efforts to serve the community. Whether it was by responding to job loss, increased food insecurity, or a lack of accurate information about the pandemic, MEIRS’s ability to provide linguistically and culturally tailored assistance to the refugee and immigrant communities was critical as Maine worked to protect individuals and families from COVID-19 and prevent its spread.

MEIRS (as part of the L/A Task Force, a collaborative effort to educate our community about the COVID-19) did mass COVID testing for the general public as well as in area jails and prisons and disseminated pertinent information through a door-to-door awareness campaign for the non-English speaking community. MEIRS and the L/A Task Force also provided COVID awareness messages via multilingual recordings/texts which were delivered via email, text messages, telephone calls, and WhatsApp.
MEIRS stepped in where other organizations that had gone online couldn’t by helping more than 1,000 individuals from across the area file unemployment claims and other necessary paperwork that made it financially possible to weather the pandemic.

In partnership with the Good Shepherd Food Bank, MEIRS distributed food within the Lewiston community three times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays), serving more than 300 families a week. We continue to serve as a food distribution site.

Working with the Lewiston Public Schools, MEIRS created a day program that provided supervised childcare and a safe learning environment for LPS school-aged students up to age 14 with support for remote schoolwork on days that they were not scheduled to be at school for in person learning. This included providing breakfast and lunch, as well as transportation. MEIRS also provided in-home support to families who did not know how to utilize Google Classroom or other necessary technology.
MEIRS’ efforts meant that many of the most critical workers within the community were able to go to work with their children supervised, as many daycares had closed or were at capacity.

WELCOMING MORE FAMILIES
In 2021, MEIRS was awarded a state grant for a three-year trial program – Whole Family Services – through the Department of Health and Human Services. This program provides families with the tools needed to set and achieve goals focused on family stability.

MEIRS became a DOJ-accredited organization with an in-house accredited representative, giving the agency the ability to file asylum claims and represent asylum seekers in Boston immigration court, which is done on a sliding fee scale. MEIRS is one of only two nonprofits in Maine with this accreditation.
MEIRS was one of three Maine agencies that helped resettle Afghans when the State Department launched the Afghan Placement Program in September 2021. MEIRS resettled 104 Afghans into Maine from November 2021 to September 2022. Success with that program led to MEIRS being accepted as one of three full-fledged Refugee Resettlement Agencies in the state of Maine. MEIRS is also participating in the United for Ukraine effort through the US Citizenship and Immigration Service.
MEIRS looks to the future with a continuing desire to help immigrants and refugees become self-sufficient and engaged members of the Maine community.