August 7, 2006
Community developer | Noel Bonam heads the state's new Office of Multicultural Affairs
By Kerry Elson
Noel Bonam first came to Maine six years ago, an immigrant originally from India with few connections stateside. But in his time here, the Portland resident has created a role for himself as a community leader. Now, his job is to help other immigrants do the same.
In July, Gov. John Baldacci named Bonam as head of the new Office of Multicultural Affairs, designed to serve the state's small, but growing, refugee and immigrant population. Though housed in the Department of Health and Human Services, the office works with virtually every government department, from labor to agriculture, public safety to education, to design policies to help the state's immigrants succeed.
True, Bonam and his staff of four, all of whom were reassigned to the office from other parts of DHHS, are serving a fraction of the state's population: Just four percent of Mainers are ethnic minorities, according to the 2004 state census, and two percent were foreign-born, according to a 2000 survey. But though small in number, those new arrivals are key to the state's economic development, Bonam says, because they bring unique skills and are eager to work. His job, he says, is to help immigrants integrate into Maine's communities and make that economic contribution.
"When you support the [immigrant] community to be able to grow and become self-sufficient, and contribute ultimately to the larger community, the larger community stands to gain," Bonam says. "Why are bigger cities like New York and London and San Francisco so sought after? Economically they do so much better. It's because of their very approach to diversity and inclusion."
Not everyone would agree. In the immigration debate raging among lawmakers nationwide, some argue that immigrants only drag local economies. But Bonam believes that by welcoming new arrivals with education and job training, among other services, Maine can help them become self-sufficient and give back to their new communities. "People really believe that all of these [immigrants] are coming and taking our jobs," he says, "but that's not true."
A Portland nursing agency, for example, is training Somali and Sudanese immigrants to be certified nursing assistants, jobs it had been unable to fill. And as the state's population continues to age, newcomers could be an important part of the much-needed replacement workforce.
Bonam's own career has sent him around the globe as an artist and social justice worker. He came to the United States for a job directing multicultural youth programs at the Center for Cultural Exchange in Portland. His most recent post was with the city of Portland, organizing HIV and STD treatment and prevention programs for the Department of Health and Human Services. With a background that's heavier in the arts and public health than government work, Bonam admits that his new position has a steep learning curve. He's always doing "catch-up reading" on economic development when he carpools to work in Augusta, he says. But his years as a community activist, he says, have given him the communication and organizing skills that are essential to the job.
Meeting with other government departments, local nonprofit agencies and advocacy groups has been the bulk of Bonam's work so far, to learn how the state can best support its various cultural groups. By November, he and his staff will use that information to draft a strategic plan for the office, with help from an advisory council of government officials and community leaders. Now is the time to do it, he says, because even though more immigrants are arriving each year, their population is still relatively small. "Do you really want to be in a position five years from now when we have too many people and no plan in place," he says, "or do you want to start working now and be proactive while it's still in a manageable phase?"
In July, Gov. John Baldacci named Bonam as head of the new Office of Multicultural Affairs, designed to serve the state's small, but growing, refugee and immigrant population. Though housed in the Department of Health and Human Services, the office works with virtually every government department, from labor to agriculture, public safety to education, to design policies to help the state's immigrants succeed.
True, Bonam and his staff of four, all of whom were reassigned to the office from other parts of DHHS, are serving a fraction of the state's population: Just four percent of Mainers are ethnic minorities, according to the 2004 state census, and two percent were foreign-born, according to a 2000 survey. But though small in number, those new arrivals are key to the state's economic development, Bonam says, because they bring unique skills and are eager to work. His job, he says, is to help immigrants integrate into Maine's communities and make that economic contribution.
"When you support the [immigrant] community to be able to grow and become self-sufficient, and contribute ultimately to the larger community, the larger community stands to gain," Bonam says. "Why are bigger cities like New York and London and San Francisco so sought after? Economically they do so much better. It's because of their very approach to diversity and inclusion."
Not everyone would agree. In the immigration debate raging among lawmakers nationwide, some argue that immigrants only drag local economies. But Bonam believes that by welcoming new arrivals with education and job training, among other services, Maine can help them become self-sufficient and give back to their new communities. "People really believe that all of these [immigrants] are coming and taking our jobs," he says, "but that's not true."
A Portland nursing agency, for example, is training Somali and Sudanese immigrants to be certified nursing assistants, jobs it had been unable to fill. And as the state's population continues to age, newcomers could be an important part of the much-needed replacement workforce.
Bonam's own career has sent him around the globe as an artist and social justice worker. He came to the United States for a job directing multicultural youth programs at the Center for Cultural Exchange in Portland. His most recent post was with the city of Portland, organizing HIV and STD treatment and prevention programs for the Department of Health and Human Services. With a background that's heavier in the arts and public health than government work, Bonam admits that his new position has a steep learning curve. He's always doing "catch-up reading" on economic development when he carpools to work in Augusta, he says. But his years as a community activist, he says, have given him the communication and organizing skills that are essential to the job.
Meeting with other government departments, local nonprofit agencies and advocacy groups has been the bulk of Bonam's work so far, to learn how the state can best support its various cultural groups. By November, he and his staff will use that information to draft a strategic plan for the office, with help from an advisory council of government officials and community leaders. Now is the time to do it, he says, because even though more immigrants are arriving each year, their population is still relatively small. "Do you really want to be in a position five years from now when we have too many people and no plan in place," he says, "or do you want to start working now and be proactive while it's still in a manageable phase?"
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