Building a Multicultural Community with Resettled Refugees: A Case Study of the Midtown Utica Community Center in Utica, NY

Kathryn Stam and Chris Sunderlin tell the story of the lingering challenges of resettled refugees well beyond their initial arrival in the United States and the 90 days during which they receive comprehensive support. They begin with the founding of the community center in 2014 and discuss the present situation and future plans. The multicultural population of refugees and immigrants that offer and participate in activities and access services at the community center include Karen (Burma), Rakhine (Burma), Burmese, Somali-Bantu, Sudanese, Cambodian, Lao, Vietnamese, Nepali/Bhutanese, Bosnian, Dominican, Puerto Rican, and multiple-generation American citizens from a variety of different backgrounds. They use the center in a multitude of ways for a variety of reasons. The authors investigate the dynamics of this figured world through analyzing information availability and access at the community center and how they have evolved during the past four years.