Alex [00:00:05]: What I’m impressed by, not just in Vermont but really throughout our country, the way our private sector, which is seen as more conservative inherently, are embracing immigrants. Because the phrase that we use all the time in our office is people need jobs and jobs need people.

 

Amanda [00:00:27]: That’s the voice of Alex Beck of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, here to share about the Welcoming Workplaces initiative in Brattleboro, Vermont. Their program helps local employers be more, you guessed it, welcoming to all kinds of employees, especially immigrants and refugees who are new to the US. Tune in to hear about increasing diversity in a small community and making an impact for both new Americans and locals. I’m Amanda Ellis, and you’re listening to Inside America’s Best Cities, a podcast for Chamber, economic development, and talent attraction professionals. You can learn more about this podcast at livabilitymedia.com and with that, let’s jump in. Alex, welcome to Inside America’s Best Cities. So excited to have you. And you are our inaugural Vermont guest.

 

Alex [00:01:18]: Oh, well, thank you so much for having me. I hope I do our brave little state proud.

 

Amanda [00:01:24]: So what you’re on to chat with us about today, you all recently got some recognition from IEDC and an award for your Welcoming Workplaces initiative. Give us an overview. Tell us about what that is, what you’re doing.

 

Alex [00:01:37]: Yeah. So very recently, Brattleboro became a refugee resettlement community, in large part due to our support of welcoming more folks, particularly to work, but also to live in our community. And we realized that because our part of Vermont hasn’t had a lot of immigration, that not only would our new neighbors need some support finding work, we knew our employers would need some support in hiring and recruiting and retaining folks of diverse backgrounds and with diverse language abilities. And so this program was really designed to do both, is to get folks jobs that paid them good wages and for employers to get good employees for their companies.

 

Amanda [00:02:24]: Was this something that you launched or that you inherited? How did this take shape?

 

Alex [00:02:30]: So our organization, for better or for worse, has seen the writing on the wall around the workforce in rural communities for a decade. So I’ve spent the greater part of eight years here working on supporting lifelong Vermonters or folks who are in Vermont, high school students, college students, adult job seekers, and entering the workforce. And we knew that wasn’t enough. And so our organization partnered with a national refugee settlement organization to open an office. And from there, as a part of that, we really saw that we also had work to do in preparing our community. And so it was very much something our organization was on the ground floor in our community. And the training we put together was designed by myself and my colleague Amir. And we know teaming up together and making it up as we go, as most great programs often start. Right?

 

Amanda [00:03:31]: Yes. I think a lot of life is just pretending you know, more than you actually know.

 

Alex [00:03:36]: Absolutely.

 

Amanda [00:03:37]: What countries are most of the new Americans from this program coming from?

 

Alex [00:03:41]: Yeah. So what was really unique is when the Refugee office opened, it was July of 2021, and at that point, the plan, again, plans are always thrown out the window, but was to welcome one or two families from refugee resettlement camps in the traditional refugee process from around the world. One or two families a month for the first year, 75 folks at most. And then in August, Kabul fell and the Afghan crisis happened. And what I really see is it was an opportunity for our community to really live into its values of instead of hedging our bets and saying, let’s just try it and see if it works out. Instead, we were in a position to welcome 100 Afghans in around four months. So for the first six months to eight months of doing this work, it was predominantly, if not exclusively, folks from Afghanistan.

 

Amanda [00:04:50]: How cool to be able to make that difference for people, but simultaneously doing something that benefits your community and your workforce, like, it’s really a win/win in a lot of ways. So how many folks overall has the program brought in thus far?

 

Alex [00:05:04]: So our refugee partners have brought in a total of. I believe we’re around 200 folks in the two years since it’s been open. And just be clear, our organization doesn’t do refugee resettlement. We’re just employment services is the term in support of that. But it’s based in the community, and so it’s really the pace at which the community can support these folks. And so 200 people, those are families. Some of these families are enormous. One or two parents and half a dozen kids, maybe more. And so at any given time, we have between 90-100 of those folks in our workforce.

 

Amanda [00:05:41]: So from reading up on your website, the overall Welcoming Workplaces Initiative, the refugee component is only part of that. Right? But a big part. And then also focused on just diversifying in general and helping your employers be on top of that?

 

Alex [00:05:57]: Yes, absolutely. So our organization has co-chaired a committee in our community called the Diverse Workforce Development Committee. And that really does have an emphasis and focus on BIPOC Americans. So black, indigenous, people of color. When we were all on lockdown and when George Floyd was murdered, there was a lot of really important conversations happening in our country around racism and equity and diversity and inclusion. And that was great, and we were part of those, and we were also leading those conversations, and that was really focused on HR policy. And how do you address systemic racism in the workplace? And we realize that the explicit needs of English language learners is a different set of challenges that employers struggle with in a place like Vermont, because, again, we are, I believe, 93% white, if not more. And so there are certain experiences that HR folks just don’t know how to deal with. If a person of color comes to apply and says, what’s it like to be a person of color in Brattleboro? That HR person, probably, statistically speaking, is not a person of color and therefore doesn’t have a great answer for that same thing as what are the most important holidays for folks who are observant Muslims. It’s those kinds of questions that you don’t need to be exclusive or xenophobic or prejudiced to not know those answers off the top of your head. And so I think that’s kind of where we saw this equity and inclusivity work that we’d been doing for a while really dovetail into, okay, well, if you want to be equitable and inclusive, here’s what that looks like as it. When it relates to new Vermonters, folks with maybe English language learning status.

 

Amanda [00:07:51]: Yeah, we had another recent Pod interview where the guest talked a lot about how he really sees the communities that are the most welcoming, that are embracing diversity the most, being the most well positioned.

 

Alex [00:08:03]: Yeah. You know what I’m impressed by not just in Vermont, but really throughout our country, the way our private sector, which is seen as more conservative inherently, are embracing immigrants. Because the phrase that we use all the time in our office is people need jobs and jobs need people. Fundamentally, everyone wants to go home at the end of the day with food on their table for their families and a good roof over their heads. And the best way we do that right now is people having good places to work. And in companies that have employees that they can grow at the pace that they want to grow because they have the employees that they have and folks who have the opportunity for higher wages because there are opportunities that are welcome and inclusive to them. So it really is a match made in heaven, if you will, in terms of what it’s done for our region’s employers.

 

Amanda [00:09:01]: Yeah, I think a different job opportunity, a good job opportunity, is probably one of the most life-changing things people can experience, which is one of the things I think is so cool about our field, is being able to be part of making that happen. So, spot-on assessment, in my opinion. So you all in Brattleboro are not that big. Your population is around or under 15K, is that right?

 

Alex [00:09:22]: Yes, around twelve, give or take.

 

Amanda [00:09:25]: So in a smaller area, how have your longer-term residents responded to the efforts to bring in new folks?

 

Alex [00:09:33]: I think like all community issues, it’s complicated. Brattleboro is the home of World Learning, which runs international aid programs. It runs study abroad programs. So we are this incredibly worldly community. And so from a xenophobia standpoint, from an intercultural and multicultural standpoint, we were incredibly welcoming. The community itself was really coalesced and really was here to support folks. However, we face a lot of challenges that other rural communities do around housing and infrastructure, and there will always be people on both sides of those topics. And housing is a great example. Is that the reason why some folks might not want more housing has nothing to do with the fact that it’ll be mostly immigrants living there? We have a lot of people saying, I would love for there to be more immigrants, but these are the reasons why I don’t want these housing units in my backyard. We’re still really hoping to see how, to the extent that we will continue to walk the walk again. How well we supported our Afghan neighbors was remarkable. And in order for us to keep doing this work, we need more housing, we need better transportation, and our communities are going to need to invest in that infrastructure, not just for immigrants, but for, Americans in New Hampshire, right across a river, who might want to move to Brattleboro or folks in Greenfield, you know, we live quite close to many, much larger places. And so the infrastructure we need to build and support isn’t just for immigrants, it’s for working families. And so I think that that’s where we are now, is that we’ve gone beyond that political reaction to now. It’s like, let’s figure out what it takes to really grow our community in this way.

 

Amanda [00:11:26]: Yeah, just the logistics. And, of course, that’s something every community is facing challenges with right now, especially on the housing front. Right? Housing stock, housing affordability, all those things. It’s just sort of the economic trajectory that we’re on right now. Anything else you can share about plans to add more housing or other infrastructure, things that you’re looking ahead toward?

 

Alex [00:11:48]: Yeah. So, I mean, I think housing, we’ll see. There’s a lot of exciting potential projects, but that is something I, for better, for worse, don’t need to spend my time thinking about, only hoping for. But transportation is really important for getting folks to and from work. And so when folks first arrived, I was picking folks up at their apartments or where they were living, 5:30 in the morning and getting them in the lumber yards at six in my personal car. And then eventually we upgraded to a passenger van that we hired someone to drive. And I’m hoping, and I believe, that by the end of this year, our local transit company will start a micro transit pilot that will run between 05:00 p.m. And I believe it’s 11:00 p.m. So folks who work second shift will be able to get to or from work. Our public transit system is remarkable, given how rural we are and what we’ve learned, which this is all a learning experience, is. It takes a long time to change certain things in a rural community. Our public transit relies on state and federal funding, and they run pretty tight schedules. And so you can’t just be, hey, can you throw in an extra bus line here or an extra stop there? It sounds easy, but the logistics of that are challenging. And so an example is, we did a survey of all of our employers in the major area of employment. It’s one long stretch of road right outside of town where most of our high-wage, entry-level jobs are. And so we said, how many jobs are people working during hours that aren’t currently served by public transportation? So we did all that research because we have that connection with the employers, and we bundled it up and we gave it to our transit company, and he’ll use that to apply for grants to say, here’s the need, here’s who would use it, here’s who it serves. So that’s another way that we’re collaborating with folks, and that will, in theory, be a long-lasting change in the system that these folks helped drive. And again, of course, anyone will be allowed to get on that bus. It’s really just this dynamic reinvigoration of talent in our community and this really actively mobile and upwardly mobile community that’s saying, yeah, we need working class infrastructure. Now.

 

Amanda [00:14:13]: I agree with you that the fact that you have any type of public transportation infrastructure at all in a smaller area like that is noteworthy. So at least you’ve got that to start with. And, yeah, just the wraparound support with a lot of these initiatives can be really key. It sounds like you all are really thinking through that, which is awesome. As part of your work with this program, I know you offer no-cost trainings to your local employers and workplaces on becoming more welcoming in general. What are a few of your favorite tips from that that are just things we could all be thinking about for our own organizations and in our own work?

 

Alex [00:14:47]: Yeah. So I think intention is really all that you need to carry the day through. Intercultural miscommunications. And the favorite story I always tell is at the end of Ramadan, there’s a holiday called Eid, at which it is, for lack of a better analogy, our Christmas, in which federal holiday in Muslim countries. So, of course, no one showed up to work that day. And all of the employers were calling our case managers and calling me and saying, where is everyone? Because that was not a holiday that was on their calendar yet. And so we’re all familiar with the no call, no show, like the phrase when someone just doesn’t show up to work and so they don’t let you know why, and you got to fire them because that’s not. And the employers didn’t do that. They called us and we said, okay, we understand there was a big miscommunication. And we explained to the employers that they just did not expect there to be work that day. And maybe as an employer, you should think about floating holidays, because I promise you, these folks will never come to work on Eid, and it’s not really right for you to assume they will. And so something like floating holidays is an equitable way to let folks celebrate what’s most important to them. And we then went to all these employees who didn’t show up to work and said, in the United States, we let our employers know a week or two before we need to miss work. And so what could have been a really challenging event in which many people lost good jobs, it was instead like an intercultural learning opportunity. The difference, again, you cannot do that by force. You just need folks who are willing to be there. And that intention to listen and understand. The labor shortage helps because all the employers were like, well, I’d rather have them come in tomorrow than fire them today. But that doesn’t matter. It’s the same reason why some folks are creating prayer space on the job site, and it’s something they never thought they’d need to do, but they’re willing to do because some places will pay for people’s hunting licenses, because that’s a cultural Vermont thing, right? So why not everything, right? It’s finding these ways to lean in to some of these needs of folks in an equitable way, and it looks different for different people. And so I think that’s really where trusting your gut, trusting your employees can be really helpful.

 

Amanda [00:17:23]: Yeah. What you just said was so interesting, too, and that I think this tighter labor market that we’ve been in has created some change that’s been really positive, that I hope will stick around, even probably won’t always be this tight forever. I guess in some ways we probably hope it won’t be, but hopefully some of that will carry through. So that’s an interesting perspective.

 

Alex [00:17:45]: Yeah.

 

Amanda [00:17:46]: Any thoughts, Alex, if another community wanted to replicate something like you’re doing, what do you suggest as a starting point?

 

Alex [00:17:53]: I would say what I have seen often happen. Again, I’m new to this because we’ve only become a refugee resettlement site recently, but what I have seen is that usually the services and support around employment for immigrants is siloed from where we normally see that happening with other folks. And we didn’t have enough resources to Silo anything here in our small town, so we knew that we had to look at our entire workforce, system, and economy regionally and make it work for these folks. We focus on immigrants, but previously incarcerated folks, folks with substance use disorder, siloing these populations from these systems doesn’t make it easier for anyone, really. And so what I would say is go to where the employers already are talking. Where are they getting their HR trainings? There probably is someone in your community promoting diversity, equity, inclusion trainings. Are those inclusive of immigrants and folks of immigrant backgrounds. And so really trying to embed those services or that mindset, does your local department of labor, do they have any experience working with immigrants? And so that’s something that through partnership, through working through your local workforce development Board, maybe it’s your community college system. It’s really welcoming your refugee partners into those spaces. And to say that if we really want to put these folks on a good track to upward mobility, we have to connect them with where the opportunity is. And that’s something we already know and where the classes already are. And if your class that you’re offering in your manufacturing sector doesn’t have an English language learning component, maybe that’s what you would need to do. But it’s a lot easier to add on that language learning component than start from scratch and reinvent the wheel entirely.

 

Amanda [00:20:01]: I really liked what you were saying, Alex, about hidden workers beyond just the ones we’re talking about. I think a lot of times some of the disconnect with the workforce right now isn’t so much not having bodies or people in your community, but do their skills match up with the jobs you have? And if they don’t, how do you make that happen? And who might you be overlooking? Who would be awesome?

 

Alex [00:20:22]: Yeah. And I think that that’s really where. What I have taken away from this is that the universal design approach is that that’s what equitable systems and equitable workplaces really are, is thinking about folks as individuals and those needs. And even though people face a diversity of challenges, there generally aren’t that different from they need housing, transportation, access to a good wage, and an opportunity. And so I think flexibility and recognizing that can benefit all folks. And even though maybe our grant funding for that van program was supposed to only have refugees on the bus, if someone else needed a ride, we wouldn’t say no. And I think that’s really how things can and should be designed and implemented. And I think all ships rise with the tide when we invest in working people, regardless of their background.

 

Amanda [00:21:22]: Yes, it’s true. And we always close out Alex with a fun question. If someone were visiting Brattleboro for the first time, what is your favorite bucket list item you would suggest that they definitely would have to do if you had to pick one thing?

 

Alex [00:21:38]: All right, so because we’re rolling into wintertime on February 20 something that weekend, I think we have the Harris Hill ski jump, which unbeknownst to many, we have an Olympic-sized ski jump that is a pre-qualifying hill for the Olympics that every year, the whole community, and then some shows up to watch, to be frank, like tweens from Europe, like Eastern Europe, launch themselves off of our ski jump. And again, it is not because as a community, we love ski jumping, necessarily, but as a community, we love community. And by the end of February, we’ve all been locked in our homes for the dreary doldrums of winter. And it could be anything. But it just so happens that you can watch Olympic-grade ski jumping in our little town of Brattleboro. You can get a locally crafted beer in the tent, eat some sausage from the local sausage cart, and I think it’s just a really cool event and spectacle to be a part of. I mean, everyone gets cowbells, so when they jump off the jump, everyone rings your cowbell. And I certainly haven’t ever experienced anything like it anywhere else in the world.

 

Amanda [00:23:07]: Always fun to watch, like 14-year-olds execute some physical thing that you could never dream of doing.

 

Alex [00:23:13]: And they fall and get right back up, and it’s just remarkable in and of itself.

 

Amanda [00:23:18]: What a time. Well, thank you so much, Alex, for sharing more about the work you’re doing. I think our listeners are going to get a lot out of that and really appreciate you taking some time.

 

Alex [00:23:27]: Yeah, thank you so much. And thank you for giving me the opportunity to share about our little corner of the state.

 

Amanda [00:23:39]: Thanks for listening to the Livability podcast, where we take you inside America’s best cities. At Livability, we highlight the unsung awesomeness of small and mid-sized cities across the country. We also partner with communities to reach their target companies and potential residents through digital content and print magazine programs. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, rate, and review this show wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also learn more about us at livabilitymedia.com. Have an idea for an upcoming episode? Email me at [email protected]. Until next time, from Livability, I’m Amanda Ellis, sharing the stories of America’s most promising places.