Cuyahoga County opened its new welcome center at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood to provide resources to newcomers — primarily immigrants and refugees.
Newcomers will be able to get help finding work, housing, legal assistance and multilingual services at the center, according to the county.
The center is part of the county’s plan to attract immigrants to the region and boost the overall population, said Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.
“When you look at successful metropolitans that have been growing over the years, often the secret to their success is and a key ingredient is they welcome newcomers and immigrants,” Ronayne said. “We in greater Cleveland have not experienced population growth, yet we have the capacity to welcome more persons here.”
The county’s immigrant population has grown, despite the overall population shrinking from 2012 to 2022, according to the American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2012, about 83,000 of the county’s 1,265,000 residents, 6.5%, were immigrants. In 2022, about 94,000 of the county’s 1,236,000 residents, 7.6%, were foreign-born.
“Our strength is in our diversity,” Ronayne said. “If we’re intentional about welcoming the world to Cleveland, Ohio, we’re going to grow.”
In addition to welcome center staff, the center will have representatives from the county’s jobs and family services department and, at times, staff from other partner organizations, including Ohio Means Jobs, Global Cleveland, Legal Aid Society of Cleveland and Resource Cleveland, formerly Refugee Response.
The new center can also be a place where newcomers can get something as simple as ethnic cuisine recommendations or connected to minority group organizations, Ronayne said.
Ahmad Farid Aria moved to the Cleveland area from Afghanistan in 2019. He said this center would have helped him when moved to Ohio.
“Connecting to the government resources, connecting to different agencies is kind of difficult, “Aria said. “With having the welcome center specialized only for the newcomers, that could save them a lot of time.”
Cuyahoga County also received a “certified welcoming” designation from Welcoming America, a nonprofit that helps communities and local governments aid immigrants, often through policy. The designation is supposed to indicate cities or counties that the organization deems committed to immigrant inclusion. Fewer than 30 localities have that designation.
“Every day, immigrants are coming over and just need a leg up,” Ronayne said. “I think it’s important as a statement that we make that we are open, we are welcome and we want you.”
The Welcome Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays.
