As Buffalo grapples with a high poverty rate, many immigrants and refugees are among those struggling. WBFO's Eileen Buckley talked to a Burmese immigrant who is working to help others in our community.
"My personal experience is language. I can't stress enough because without a language I would not be able to make it this far," said Ba Zan Lin, Program Coordinator with the Burmese Community Support Center.
As Buffalo grapples with a high poverty rate, many immigrants and refugees are among those struggling. Lin says language barriers are the biggest problem, preventing them from employment and a better life.
"The language access is the most important issue to resolve poverty, because poverty can not be resolved without advocacy and public action and public legislation, but to be able to participate and advocate someone needs a strong language access, without that you can only do so much," stated Lin.
Lin is working to help explain the how we can understand the experiences of new Americans living in Buffalo. Lin came to Buffalo from Burma nine years ago and attended UB. He also works at Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper as an Environmental Justice Coordinator and is helping other Burmese who have arrived to begin a new life in Buffalo. He is even encouraging his own family members to come to the city.
"My family actually moved to Buffalo four years ago, so I draw them in," said Lin.
On Buffalo's West Side, which has become home to many immigrant and refugee families, numbers show that almost 30 percent live in poverty. Lin said for refugees find it even harder to adjust to live in America because of difficulties they're past life experiences.
"They're not like just regular immigrants, their issues are a little deeper," noted Lin.
