Over the past 30 years, over 6,300 refugees have settled in Vermont. As newly arrived immigrants, the process of resettling can come with some challenges. According to a recent report by VHFA, immigrants and refugees face many unique barriers to housing in Vermont.
To identify housing barriers faced by newly arrived immigrants in Vermont, we (1) conducted a literature review of previous research of newcomers in environments that share similar characteristics as Vermont and (2) interviewed service providers and experts in Vermont familiar with the housing experiences of immigrants.
Based on this research, we identified barriers in three areas that hinder immigrants to Vermont from obtaining the housing they need:
Lack of decent, affordable housing
Transportation
Lack of credit history
Cost of living
Lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the workforce
Language barriers
Knowledge
Discrimination
Vermont agencies that work with immigrants have identified eight areas for improving access to housing in the areas of language translation, outreach, affordable housing, workforce diversity, access to the transportation system, and providing funds to organizations.