Many Somali immigrants commute to Melrose for work
By Kirsti Marohn, [email protected]
Like almost 200 other Somali refugees, Mohamud Siyad drives 30-40 minutes every day from his St. Cloud home to his job at the Jennie-O Turkey Store plant in Melrose.
The commute means time spent on the road instead of with families or taking English classes. It means paychecks spent on gas instead of other necessities or saved for the future.
"If you are closer, you save a lot of time and a lot of money," said Siyad, who has lived in St. Cloud for about five years.
Somali leaders say at least some of the plant's workers would like to move closer to Melrose. But they say affordable housing spacious enough to accommodate large Somali families seems to be scarce.
Melrose leaders have met twice in recent months to discuss the potential influx of Somalis into the community, which already is one of Central Minnesota's most diverse thanks to a sizable Latino population.
The community's reaction to its newest members remains to be seen. While some said they've heard of Somalis encountering resistant landlords, others said Melrose has welcomed immigrants in the past and will do so again.
"They know how to handle this," said Gary Loch, diversity coordinator for the St. Cloud school district, who has participated in the community meetings. "There's no hesitancy, there's no fear."
Rather, Loch said any problems are "more a matter of people not knowing where to find the housing and how to go about doing this on their own."
Seeking housing
It's estimated that 150-200 Somali refugees work at the Jennie-O turkey processing plant in Melrose. Pat Solheid, vice president of human resources for the plant, declined to comment for this story.
Virtually all of them live in the St. Cloud metro area, said Siyad, who is the plant's liaison to its Somali workers.
One of those who commutes every day is Ali Abdi, who lives in Waite Park with his wife and five children. He leaves his apartment at 5:30 p.m. five evenings a week and drives to the plant, where he is an assistant supervisor.
The plant has been an attractive place for Somalis because it offers "very good jobs" that pay well, Abdi said.
Abdi said he doesn't mind the drive except in the winter, when snow can cause problems. But for others, gasoline costs are expensive, he said, so many workers carpool.
Because of his family, Abdi said he doesn't want to move to Melrose. But many of the unmarried workers at the plant would like to find housing there, he said.
Finding affordable housing is particularly difficult for refugees, said Patti Hurd, senior director with Lutheran Social Service. The trend started around 2001 when refugee populations began spreading out across Minnesota where jobs were available, she said.
Refugees are provided with a one-time financial assistance payment of $425 per person to help them through the first month, Hurd said. After that, they are expected to find work quickly, which is difficult if they don't have a driver's license or a car, she said. Many rely on family and friends for rides, Hurd said.
Somalis tend to have large families and often have extended families staying with them as well, she said.
"Your normal two-bedroom apartments don't work too well for them," Hurd said.
Many Somali refugees don't have work experience in the United States, so the jobs they find pay entry-level wages, she said. An added problem is the fact that Somalis tend to be Muslim, and their religion doesn't allow them to collect or pay interest, Hurd said. That makes buying a home difficult.
In the Twin Cities metro area, Lutheran Social Service has started a new program encouraging refugees and others who qualify to put money into an individual development account. LSS provides a match of up to $4,000, Hurd said. The money can be used for housing, education or starting a small business.
The program is not yet available in outstate Minnesota.
Growing diversity
City leaders note that Melrose has experience with diverse populations moving in and becoming part of the community.
About 12.3 percent of residents in 2000 were Hispanic and 0.5 percent were African-American, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The Hispanic population has increased significantly since then, although no new numbers for racial and ethnic makeup are available. The city had an estimated 3,138 residents in 2006, up from 3,091 in 2000.
When the first wave of Latino residents came to the city in the 1990s, many moved into mobile home courts, said Gary Walz, community planning and economic director. From there, many moved into apartments and eventually bought homes, he said.
City officials kept track of Latino home ownership until it became routine, Walz said.
"Pretty soon, it's so normal, why would we keep track of it any longer?" he said. "We took it as a positive that they were establishing roots here and buying into the community."
The city has 310 licensed rental units, but there's no way to know how many are vacant, Walz said.
Even when rental housing is available, Somalis are not always allowed to rent, said Mohamoud Mohamed, executive director of the St. Cloud Area Somali Salvation Organization. He said he's not sure why, but speculated that landlords "are not familiar with this ethnic people coming in."
Mohamed said city and plant officials are putting a lot of effort toward addressing the housing issue for refugees. It will take time and more effort to introduce the refugees to the greater Melrose community so existing residents understand they will be contributing members, he said.
"They will be good consumers, good neighbors, good students, good workers and good citizens," Mohamed said.
Source: St. Cloud Times, Sept 16, 2007