Our Story
“We are all from one community, whether we are from Somalia or Lewiston or Auburn, Maine. We all need to learn to work together, to accept each other, to grow together, no matter what our religion or cultural background is.”
As a young refugee, Fatuma Hussein was relocated to Georgia in 1993. Fatuma knew she had to find a better place for her growing family and their future. Upon arrival, the warm, community-oriented, hospitable, loud, and colorful Somalis were visible everywhere. It felt like home to Fatuma and her family while she was so far away from their homeland, Somalia.
Once in awhile, Fatuma traveled from her home in Norcross to Clarkston to shop and reconnect with family and friends. In early February 2001, while in Clarkston shopping at the Somali stores, a family friend approached Fatuma and asked her if she had ever heard of Maine. Her response was, "What is that?"Maine was considered a mecca because it exemplified the idealistic American life sought after by the Somali community. Fatuma and her friend quickly bought tickets from the next doors shop-a Somali Travel Agency. They were on their way to Maine not too long afterward.
On February 4th, 2001, they arrived in Maine. Maine's freezing and snowy weather stood in stark contrast to the warm climates of Somalia and Atlanta. It was a big shock to Fatuma and her fellow Somalis. On their first night, 11 individuals were the guests of the Somali community in Portland, Maine. Fatuma and her fellow travelers were given a grand tour of Maine and Somali food, like Halwa. Maine's small, burgeoning Somali community seemed to have found a simple, safe life where new opportunities were possible.
At the time, many Somali Families were living in the Portland Family Shelter. Portland was also communicating with Lewiston, another Maine city, to start relocating the Somali families due to the housing shortage in Portland and searching for permanent housing for these families. The two-city partnership was beginning to support families to relocate from the city shelter to their own homes. Many Somali families experienced a difficult transition at the time. Fatuma's first impression of Maine was a place with no buildings, no people, and trees that reached past the horizon. As they continued to drive up to Lewiston, Fatuma began to have a sense of safety. The snow was fresh, very crisp, and the sun was shining on it.
The sudden influx of the Somalis to Lewiston/Auburn then began. Word had spread across the Somali community very quickly. The buzz on the street was all about Maine and, in particular, the Lewiston/Auburn area. It wouldn't be long until Somali families quickly moved fast in large numbers. In fact, 50 families had moved to Lewiston/Auburn by the time Fatuma arrived in March.
Suddenly, the Somali community was growing swiftly and quickly. Fatuma started picking families up from Logan Airport or the Bus stations. She would offer families a temporary stay, and eventually, she would connect them with the necessary resources to secure housing and services. This process required several steps to meet eligibility, and more importantly, the families needed a cultural broker to support system navigation and advocacy.
The city of Lewiston quickly recognized the staffing needs to meet the unique needs of these newcomers. The city hired their first multilingual Somali speaker to start working as a caseworker with these families. The caseworker understood their language and culture and therefore supported families to resettle and access services/resources.
The new caseworker was invited to present to the Maine State Refugee Advisory Council on the Somali influx in the Lewiston Auburn area. He needed help, and he reached out to Fatuma, whom he knew from Atlanta. The two of them prepared and jointly presented to the council. After the presentation and acknowledging the growing needs, Fatuma was offered to work with the Somali families.
At the Advisory Council meeting, Fatuma connected with partners willing to listen and brainstorm her idea of supporting the families in the Lewiston Auburn area. After several meetings and discussions, Fatuma was connected to a ready-to-convene multidisciplinary agency group to further the conversation. In the fall of 2001, Fatuma presented her concept of a Women's Center that would serve immigrant women and their children. At the end of the presentation, Fatuma secured funding and an agency that would act as a fiscal sponsor.
Her vision jotted on a single page by one of the partners began to manifest into reality. While Fatuma found support with her partners, she was still missing the community's voice. Fatuma began informing, including, and partnering with the Somali community she intended to serve, and on May 11th, 2002, she held her first community meeting at the Multipurpose Center in Lewiston. In front of a full room, she unveiled and presented the name, mission, vision, goals, and service. There was so much joy in the room, and she understood that history was being made at that moment. With so much support, the women paved the way to start the process of incorporating the organization. The following week, we spent the time to begin integrating the United Somali Women Of Maine. Furthermore, on August 2nd, 2002, the United Somali Women of Maine was officially opened.
Today, the Immigrant Resource Center Of Maine, formerly known as the United Somali Women Of Maine, serves refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers in 14 different languages. With multilingual, multicultural staff from many other countries, we provide system advocacy, community education, provider trainings, and direct services to the various communities in several counties in Maine.
Once in awhile, Fatuma traveled from her home in Norcross to Clarkston to shop and reconnect with family and friends. In early February 2001, while in Clarkston shopping at the Somali stores, a family friend approached Fatuma and asked her if she had ever heard of Maine. Her response was, "What is that?"Maine was considered a mecca because it exemplified the idealistic American life sought after by the Somali community. Fatuma and her friend quickly bought tickets from the next doors shop-a Somali Travel Agency. They were on their way to Maine not too long afterward.
On February 4th, 2001, they arrived in Maine. Maine's freezing and snowy weather stood in stark contrast to the warm climates of Somalia and Atlanta. It was a big shock to Fatuma and her fellow Somalis. On their first night, 11 individuals were the guests of the Somali community in Portland, Maine. Fatuma and her fellow travelers were given a grand tour of Maine and Somali food, like Halwa. Maine's small, burgeoning Somali community seemed to have found a simple, safe life where new opportunities were possible.
At the time, many Somali Families were living in the Portland Family Shelter. Portland was also communicating with Lewiston, another Maine city, to start relocating the Somali families due to the housing shortage in Portland and searching for permanent housing for these families. The two-city partnership was beginning to support families to relocate from the city shelter to their own homes. Many Somali families experienced a difficult transition at the time. Fatuma's first impression of Maine was a place with no buildings, no people, and trees that reached past the horizon. As they continued to drive up to Lewiston, Fatuma began to have a sense of safety. The snow was fresh, very crisp, and the sun was shining on it.
The sudden influx of the Somalis to Lewiston/Auburn then began. Word had spread across the Somali community very quickly. The buzz on the street was all about Maine and, in particular, the Lewiston/Auburn area. It wouldn't be long until Somali families quickly moved fast in large numbers. In fact, 50 families had moved to Lewiston/Auburn by the time Fatuma arrived in March.
Suddenly, the Somali community was growing swiftly and quickly. Fatuma started picking families up from Logan Airport or the Bus stations. She would offer families a temporary stay, and eventually, she would connect them with the necessary resources to secure housing and services. This process required several steps to meet eligibility, and more importantly, the families needed a cultural broker to support system navigation and advocacy.
The city of Lewiston quickly recognized the staffing needs to meet the unique needs of these newcomers. The city hired their first multilingual Somali speaker to start working as a caseworker with these families. The caseworker understood their language and culture and therefore supported families to resettle and access services/resources.
The new caseworker was invited to present to the Maine State Refugee Advisory Council on the Somali influx in the Lewiston Auburn area. He needed help, and he reached out to Fatuma, whom he knew from Atlanta. The two of them prepared and jointly presented to the council. After the presentation and acknowledging the growing needs, Fatuma was offered to work with the Somali families.
At the Advisory Council meeting, Fatuma connected with partners willing to listen and brainstorm her idea of supporting the families in the Lewiston Auburn area. After several meetings and discussions, Fatuma was connected to a ready-to-convene multidisciplinary agency group to further the conversation. In the fall of 2001, Fatuma presented her concept of a Women's Center that would serve immigrant women and their children. At the end of the presentation, Fatuma secured funding and an agency that would act as a fiscal sponsor.
Her vision jotted on a single page by one of the partners began to manifest into reality. While Fatuma found support with her partners, she was still missing the community's voice. Fatuma began informing, including, and partnering with the Somali community she intended to serve, and on May 11th, 2002, she held her first community meeting at the Multipurpose Center in Lewiston. In front of a full room, she unveiled and presented the name, mission, vision, goals, and service. There was so much joy in the room, and she understood that history was being made at that moment. With so much support, the women paved the way to start the process of incorporating the organization. The following week, we spent the time to begin integrating the United Somali Women Of Maine. Furthermore, on August 2nd, 2002, the United Somali Women of Maine was officially opened.
Today, the Immigrant Resource Center Of Maine, formerly known as the United Somali Women Of Maine, serves refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers in 14 different languages. With multilingual, multicultural staff from many other countries, we provide system advocacy, community education, provider trainings, and direct services to the various communities in several counties in Maine.