Cuyahoga County opened its new welcome center at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Cleveland鈥檚 Old Brooklyn neighborhood to provide resources to newcomers 鈥� 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鈥檚 plan to attract immigrants to the region and boost the overall population, said Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.
鈥淲hen 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,鈥� Ronayne said. 鈥淲e in greater Cleveland have not experienced population growth, yet we have the capacity to welcome more persons here.鈥�
The county鈥檚 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鈥檚 1,265,000 residents, 6.5%, were immigrants. In 2022, about 94,000 of the county鈥檚 1,236,000 residents, 7.6%, were foreign-born.
鈥淥ur strength is in our diversity,鈥� Ronayne said. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e intentional about welcoming the world to Cleveland, Ohio, we鈥檙e going to grow.鈥�
In addition to welcome center staff, the center will have representatives from the county鈥檚 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.
鈥淐onnecting to the government resources, connecting to different agencies is kind of difficult, 鈥淎ria said. 鈥淲ith having the welcome center specialized only for the newcomers, that could save them a lot of time.鈥�
Cuyahoga County also received a 鈥渃ertified welcoming鈥� 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.
鈥淓very day, immigrants are coming over and just need a leg up,鈥� Ronayne said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important as a statement that we make that we are open, we are welcome and we want you.鈥�
The Welcome Center will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays.
