Only a few weeks ago, there were quite a few dropped jaws at a recent forum on Eastern Shore immigration issues hosted by the Republican Council when the Superintendent of Talbot Public Schools Kelly Griffith noted that on the first day of school this year, thirty-eight unanticipated new children, of all ages, arrived on campus unable to speak one word of English.
It only takes one simple statistic like that to bring home the message that immigration, both legal and illegal, is a serious reality for Talbot County. In fact, the county’s immigrant community has grown over 200% in the ten years, with a current estimate that over 4,000 countywide in 2013.
One local organization not surprised by this growth has been the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center. A project of the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, the CMRC has played a critical leadership role in Talbot County responding to this dramatic shift in the area’s population.
The Spy caught up with CMRC’s Director Matthew Peters to talk about the organization’s efforts to address the needs of young people and their families eager to acclimate and strive in their new community.
This video is approximately eight minutes in length
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