Ever wonder what it would be like to be driven out of your home with nowhere to go? To be literally kicked out of the only place you’ve ever known just because you were a little different from the ruling elite? What if you were shoved into refugee camps, with no hope for a better future? Like a scene from Hotel Rwanda, many of these people are cramped together in small spaces, just praying for a way out—praying to survive.

70,000 refugees journeyed to the US last year. That means that every day, upwards of 190 people come to our shores looking for new opportunities and a new life. Whether escaping religious persecution, extreme poverty, totalitarian governments, or some other unjust limitation of their human rights, the fact is that America has become a safe haven for refugees. So much so, that the Department of Homeland security has placed a cap on how many refugees can enter the U.S. every year: 70,000 people.

When Gloria Kornowski graduated from the University at Buffalo in the spring of 2007 from the Department of Sociology, like many recent college graduates, she wasn’t sure what to do next. She certainly didn’t know that her life would begin to become intertwined with helping some of these 70,000 refugees, right here in Buffalo.

As a senior at UB, Kornowski volunteered as an English tutor for a Cuban family through Journey’s End Refugee Services (JERS), a resettlement agency based in Buffalo. This experience would end up influencing much of her post-graduation life. It offered her the opportunity to make a difference locally, as well as nationally.

Working directly with this family in their home one day a week for six months inspired Kornowski to stay involved with JERS, and after graduation she took up a post within the education department of the organization to help develop their new Refugee School Impact Program (RSIP). Americorps VISTA is a three-year long grant from Americorps for a refugee relief site like JERS, which includes three, one-year positions, called VISTAS. Kornowski became the new Americorps VISTA and began working directly with JERS after graduation. “As a life-long resident of Buffalo and a product of the Buffalo Public Schools, I was drawn to the program [RSIP] and interested to find out how I could support it,” says Kornowski.

In the winter of 2007, as part of her VISTA work, Kornowski began developing Let’s Go To The Library (LG2TL), a program based in the Niagara Branch Library on Porter Avenue in downtown Buffalo. This program aims to help assimilate refugees into American life while teaching them valuable skills which they can use as they embark on a new life in the U.S.

“We provide opportunities to refugee students and their families to receive academic assistance and to participate in social activities while practicing English and connecting with the educational resources in their community,” says Kornowski. “The hope is that we are providing families with a place to come where they can meet other community members and get assistance with things that will help make their transition into American life a little easier.”

Volunteers help families with anything they need—the program is completely flexible. Students, especially those in Buffalo Public Schools, receive help with their homework and school projects. Adults learn how to understand bills and bank statements, while everyone benefits from English lessons, and training in basic computer skills. The program offers those new to America a prep course in how to get by and to ultimately succeed.

LG2TL officially began in February of 2008, and is still holding strong. Volunteering for the fall began on Saturday, November 8, when volunteers and refugee families met at the Niagara Branch Library from 12:30 to 2:30 pm. The group meets weekly for fall and spring programs.

The Niagara Branch Library was chosen as the site for the program because of its central location for many of the families who need and utilize it the most. “I had been to the Niagara Branch Library a few times, and all of the sudden it just clicked,” says Kornowski. “The library could be a great resource for these families, some of whom walk by it on a daily basis, so why not bring them into it and help them take advantage of it?”

Kornowski says that everything developed from the idea of utilizing the library and it “took off from there.” Yet, none of it could have happened without the help and support of the library itself, especially Bryan Hoth, the Branch Manager of the library, and his staff. “The library staff were very pleased when I approached them with the idea, and they have been absolutely wonderful to our program,” remembers Kornowski. “They allowed us to come in and hold the program every Saturday afternoon, and gave us full access to their community room and other common spaces.”

“With the ever increasing amount of refugees entering the West side, we recognized the need to provide space for Journey’s End to provide programs and services to this ever growing population segment,” says Hoth. In addition to helping the communities, the program has been a win-win situation and has helped the library as well. According to Hoth, “It has helped the library by increasing the number of patrons from these population segments to attend its programs and utilize its services. It has helped the community by allowing them to recognize the many services we provide and to encourage them to take advantage of it.”

Since Kornowski’s one-year stint with JERS has ended, she has enrolled as a student in UB’s graduate School of Social Work and the program coordinating has changed hands. This fall, Maya Slomovich, a former volunteer and a senior in UB’s School of Management, stepped up to be program coordinator, as RSIP doesn’t have the funds to hire someone. Slomovich was dedicated from the beginning. “I found out about the program through an email from Golden Key International Honor Society. I got in contact with Gloria [Kornowski] and showed up to the orientation, only to get hooked,” she says. With the help of Kelly Cooper, the new JERS Americorps VISTA, Slomovich has been continuing the program true to Kornowski’s vision.

What most residents of the Buffalo area don’t realize is how important this program really is. “Refugees make up a significant portion of the incoming population to Buffalo—98 percent. They face significant cultural and language barriers as they transition into their new lives in the United States, and it is so important that their communities understand what a great potential they bring to the area,” says Kornowski. “They are resilient, hard-working people that have already endured so much in their lifetimes, and they offer so much to our city.”

“Most of the refugees currently coming through JERS are Burmese and Iraqis,” says Cooper. “They have had many difficult times that many Americans cannot even imagine and this program will change their lives.” Cooper continues to explain that the program currently has four Academic Coaches who work in tandem with local volunteers to help students in their own languages. The four Academic Coaches speak 12 languages between them: Karen, Burmese, Thai, Amharic, Arabic, Dinka, Mai Mai, Somali, Spanish, Italian, Swahili, and English. Academic Coaches “work with the students in their own language to mentor, tutor, help with homework, interpret, translate, school orientations, advocacy, problem solving, guidance, meditation, grade placement, counseling, crisis intervention, after school activities, and more,” says Cooper.

Some of the Academic Coaches are even refugees themselves, like Smiler Greely. Greely is from Burma and speaks Karen. The Karen speaking people of Burma live on the eastern border of Burma and make up seven percent of the Burmese population. They have sought independence from Burma since 1949, which has caused wars and strife within the country. At the volunteer orientation a few weeks ago, Greely told new volunteers his story of being forced out of his homeland and into a refugee camp where he stayed until last year when he came to the United States, says Cooper. “He talked about how Burmese people are being beaten up in Buffalo and how important it is for him to have American friends when he needs help.”

These relationships between refugees and locals are one of the biggest benefits of LG2TL. “The best part of the program for me,” says Kornowski, “was getting to see our families come together with the dedicated community members that volunteered their time each week. Some couldn’t communicate that well with each other because of language barriers, but you could see that relationships were forming. They looked forward to working with one another, and both parties took something away from the experience.”

The original program in February of 2008 lasted 12 weeks and began with about 20 volunteers and 16 students. By the last day of the program there were 30 volunteers and over 100 students, according to Cooper. “I think that last year the program far exceeded expectations as the students being serviced by the program grew in number. The refugee families are becoming acquainted with the library and with American volunteers.” This year the number of students and family members is expected to exceed last winter’s final number, and this spring is supposed to blow everything out of the water. Cooper already has more volunteers signed up for the spring than she does for this fall, and providing all the kinks get worked out, Cooper says that “the spring semester program is likely to be larger than ever before.”

Currently, a large focus is being placed on the volunteers themselves. “It is important that our volunteers have a knowledgeable understanding of what these refugees have been through and the country they are coming from,” says Slomovich. All volunteers went through a two-hour orientation where they gained a better understanding of what it’s like and what it means to be a refugee. Many of the families they will be working with have lived in refugee camps for their whole lives—persecuted for being themselves. At orientation, volunteers were provided with ample information to get them thinking about the life of a refugee. “By informing and having volunteers involved with the cause behind LG2TL we feel that volunteers will be better connected to the refugee families and will have a personal drive,” states Slomovich.

As with anything, the program does have some restrictions. With a limited number of volunteers and only one location, LG2TL has a hard time servicing all 2,816 refugee students in Buffalo, who speak 73 languages, and are enrolled in 62 Buffalo Public Schools. Though the Niagara Branch Library is a central location for many of the refugee families, it’s not accessible for all of them. Thus far in the program’s short history, transportation has been the biggest obstacle in bringing this service to everyone who needs it.

Last year, Kornowski learned that “many families were walking long distances in the cold, many with young children” just to utilize the program. “I felt that we could do a better job of getting them there,” says Kornowski. “From then on, we provided transportation with our agency van to the families who lived farthest away.” Incorporating a mode of transportation into the program allowed LG2TL to more easily extend its reach beyond the few blocks surrounding the library.

“Most of the families cannot drive and do not have bus passes, so it’s difficult for them to make it to the library on their own,” says Cooper. “The Niagara Branch Library is close for some families, but interested students also live all around the West Side. Last year, Gloria’s [Kornowski’s] father graciously drove around the West Side picking up students and their families and taking them to the library. I am planning on driving the JERS van and doing the same this year,” continues Cooper.

Aside from transportation, Slomovich has a different concern for this year’s program. “Overall, my major concern is how effective this program will be,” she admits. “Last year’s outcome was tremendous. By the last session we had over 100 participants present, however, my goal is not the turn out, but how much we can really influence and help refugees adjust to their new life style.”

Though influencing and helping those new to this country is the whole point and major goal of LG2TL, what’s more is how it influences the volunteers as well. “The best thing about this program is your influence and the amount you can learn about yourself and from the people you are working with,” says Slomovich. Cooper agrees and adds, “Working with the students also helps me learn about problems they are having, which helps me create newer programs to ease these troubles.”

Right now, the LG2TL program is focused on helping as many refugees living in Buffalo as it can from its one central space. Kornowski, however, hopes that it one day can expand its reach to include every local refugee family in need. “The plan is to keep making it bigger and better,” she says. “Maybe someday it could expand to other libraries and make the program more accessible to families that live outside of the West Side. The Riverside Library would be a good start, as a good number of families have been resettled in the Black Rock/Riverside area.”

Though small in size, the LG2TL program is having a big impact on the refugee population in Buffalo. If not directly, but in bringing the plight of these local refugees to the forefront of local awareness. Many volunteers had no idea that the refugee population in Buffalo was so large, Slomovich being one of them, and now she’s running the show.

It’s all about awareness and using that awareness to help those in need. As Slomovich says, “Whether you are inspired by this story or not, I hope this encourages you to perhaps sit in front of your computer, sign off Facebook, and learn more about the strife people are going through around the world.”