In 2012, a study done by Jack Strauss, a professor at St. Louis University, showed that St. Louis’ “… lack of immigration explains a considerable portion of the [St. Louis] region’s slow income growth.” He also explained that  foreign-born people comprise 13 percent of the population in the United States, but in St. Louis, only 5 percent of the regional population is comprised of immigrants.

To Betsy Cohen, a marketing executive, this was an issue. To combat this, the St. Louis Mosaic Project of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership was created in 2013, with Cohen serving as executive director. Its main objective was to make St. Louis “the fastest growing region (city) [in the United States] for foreign-born people by year of 2020,” which it hit in 2015 after one year of its inception.  

“When your relatives and my relatives came to this country, they didn’t speak English,” Cohen said. “People forget that [we were just like them]…and we had to get started too. People helped us then, so it is our obligation to help immigrants now.” 

Immigrants also help the community. Economically, according to the Center for American Progress, immigrants added an estimated $2 trillion to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2016. Immigrants provide a workforce and labor full of optimism and integrity, because they are often fueled by hope. 

When refugees first arrive in St. Louis, the first step for aid is at the International Institute, St. Louis’ welcoming center for new Americans. They may have an education but they are unaccustomed to living in a first world nation so, according to Cohen, “most [refugees] are not ready for the job market, and they have to take much lower paying jobs than what they had in their home country.” Advanced career programs at the International Institute and The Mosaic Project are the next steps so that immigrants and refugees can work for better jobs.  

Cohen also said that communication is an essential skill for new Americans to assimilate into American culture. This is why so many organizations like Parkway School District’s English as a Second Language Program (ESL) offer English classes for free.

Amy Abramson, an English teacher at the ESL program and the Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Program, recognizes this, which is why she has devoted 23 years of her life to teaching people. Abramson has channeled her passion towards helping new Americans learn English as well as helping women from the Immigration and Refugee Center prepare for the naturalization exam (reading, writing, civics, American government) for citizenship.

“[Teaching] is what I love to do…It’s extremely fulfilling. I go to work every day and I love my job, and I am so lucky to get to do something that I love,” Abramson said.

Abramson is a great example of why helping people assimilate in the United States is so rewarding but also imperative to their success here.

There is also a special connection between being a Jew and these refugees. That’s why Stan Shanker spends much of his weekly free time volunteering, especially at the International Institute. Shanker is chairman of the new Americans Sub-Committee of the Tzedek Committee at Congregation Shaare Emeth and the Jewish Coalition of New Americans (JCNA), which is part of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).

Sparked by a sermon about the plight of Syrian refugees by Rabbi Jim Bennett of Shaare Emeth, Shanker realized that he wanted help out here in St. Louis. Soon after hearing a representative from the International Institute speak, Shanker began volunteering at the organization. Like Cohen and Abramson, Shanker’s motivation came from the fulfillment of helping people and improving their lives, as well as from his Jewish roots. 

“Our Jewish history is of being refugees, and realizing that if it were not for others, we may not have existed,” Shanker said. “If you’re a human being, it is unconscionable not to be moved and motivated to do something for people who are oppressed. So for sure it has something to do with our Jewish background.”