The Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center (ChesMRC), which has helped more than 6,000 immigrants from every continent gain access to educational, wellness, legal, and other services, turns 10 years old this April.
As much of the national narrative presents immigration challenges in big cities and border towns, this six-person non-profit in Easton, Maryland, the Eastern Shore town of slightly more than 17,000 residents just over 1,800 miles from our southern border, shows communities prosper when people simply come together.
The ChesMRC 10th Anniversary Celebration, April 20-22 will include site tours, community events and a keynote speech by Maryland Lt. Governor Aruna Miller, whose family immigrated from India to the United States when she was seven years old, at 6 pm on Friday, April 21 at the Waterfowl Festival Headquarters, 40 S. Harrison Street. Visit www.chesmrc.org for more details.
“The Moore-Miller administration values and celebrates the unique contributions immigrants bring to our state. Maryland is stronger because of the strength and diversity of our immigrant communities – and because of organizations like ChesMRC, who have provided invaluable resources to assist and welcome new Marylanders for the last 10 years,” says Miller.
Today, the organization, supported by grants and donations, faces perhaps its biggest challenge in simply keeping up with the accelerated pace of immigration fueled in part by political oppression in Latin America and other regions and the war in Ukraine. By 2014, the Center had served 495 clients. Last year that number reached 5,367. Since January of this year, the ChesMRC already has helped 962 clients, bringing the total to 6,329 clients.
While immigration policy remains one of the most hotly debated topics in America among politicians, economists are almost universally united in the fact that new Americans may be critical to fueling economic growth during population decline.
According to the American Immigration Council, two-thirds of American counties saw population decreases in 2020-21, and future prosperity demands a stable, if not growing, population to fill jobs and provide a sustainable tax base. In fact, many economists cite immigration as one of the strategic advantages the United States enjoys as a country people want to come to while many of our competitors, often countries with far fewer freedoms or opportunities, face their own population declines.
ChesMRC, which started as a one-person operation in borrowed space at the Oasis Covenant Church founded by Peter and Marianne Byrnes, now employs six professionals in a welcoming and bright ChesMRC-owned building at the edge of Downtown Easton in a neighborhood that also finds itself in a process of renewal and transformation. Nearby landmarks include the locally beloved Rise Up Coffee shop, the authentic Pakistani Four Sisters Kabob & Curry and the hipster foodie-approved Rude Food Co.
Today, Executive Director Matthew “Mateo” Peters, who spent 13 years in San Andres, Guatemala and founded Volunteer Peten, an organization that operated an ecological park in the rainforest, a school and a library; and Assistant Director Estela Vianey Ramirez, who brings a background as a Certified Applications Counselor and expert in community health, lead the ChesMRC.
While he is proud of the paid staff and volunteers who have helped the Center provide meals, education, health services and a path to new possibilities for so many families, Peters also is appreciative of the support the Town of Easton and the surrounding communities have provided. “We’ve been fortunate to enjoy support from local, state and national agencies; businesses, farmers and watermen, and countless others who understand that new citizens make Easton, and America, stronger and richer,” says Peters. “We’re blessed to be citizens of a country that people are running to, not running away from, and we’re looking forward to continuing to work hard to make it a better place for everyone who lives here, no matter when they may have arrived.”
About Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center
The Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center empowers people from different cultures to become successful and engaged members of our community. It is open to all community members and provides quality information and referral services for recent immigrants on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We offer assistance with Immigration, Family Support, Driver’s Licenses, Legal referrals, Employment, English (ESL) classes, consultancy, Medicaid/Insurance, Translation and Interpretation. Our Normal Hours of Operation are Monday through Friday from 9 am to 6 pm. For more information, call (443) 786-1120.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.