CLEVELAND — Global Cleveland is launching a new guide to help immigrants adjusting to life in Northeast Ohio.
According to the nonprofit, the document is 57 pages long and will eventually be at least partially translated into multiple languages. It includes helpful information about topics like housing, jobs, and government services, and also walks people through the process of becoming a United States citizen.
"Imagine moving to a new country and not knowing what your legal rights are, how to access healthcare services, or your rights and responsibilities as a tenant," Joe Cimperman, president of Global Cleveland, said in a statement. "This is the situation that many international people face when moving to Northeast Ohio. Our Immigrant Resource Guide will provide a much-needed resource to international newcomers while making Northeast Ohio a more welcoming region."
According to Cimperman, a former Cleveland city councilman, naturalization numbers have doubled since 2016 as more foreign-born residents settle in the city. In the last year plus, Global Cleveland has also assisted refugees fleeing the wars in Afghanistan and Ukraine.
"We are at our greatest when our immigrant innovation and integration is at its highest," Cimperman told 3News in an interview. "You only need to look at places like Cleveland State, the Cleveland Clinic, places where people from all over the world are coming together to solve problems, to come up with cures to provide the best, and that happens when we embrace a multicultural, multiracial international DNA."
Those wishing to access the new guide can do so by logging on to globalcleveland.com/resources. The organization says consolidated versions in other languages will be available later this year.