How do you enroll your kids in Brookline schools? When should you take your trash out? Where do high schoolers like to hang out? People new to Brookline have to figure out a way to answer these, and many other questions. This poses a challenge for many, especially for those moving from different countries while also learning to speak English.
The Brookline Immigration Advancement Committee (BIAC) is a volunteer-run subcommittee of the Brookline Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community relations (ODEICR), aiming to help people acclimate to living in Brookline. The committee’s latest initiative is an informational pamphlet that contains information spanning from Brookline’s different recreational activity offerings to the ins-and-outs of the town government.
According to Caitlin Starr, the staff liaison for the BIAC, the committee started working on the pamphlet after speaking to new residents of Brookline. The committee hopes to address some of the difficulties they encountered with moving to a new place.
“They didn’t know where to get some of the basic information about what the town resources were and how to find them,” Starr said. “[The information] is kind of all over. You can go to the town website, but the town website is not easy to navigate, let alone if English is not your first language.”
Jessica Chicco, chair of the BIAC, said that a key focus while constructing the pamphlet was maximizing its accessibility for new residents.
“The bulk of the cost was really translating it because we wanted to make sure that the information was as broadly accessible as possible, so it’s available in English and eight other languages,” Chicco said.
Starr said that throughout the process of making the pamphlet, the committee emphasized working on “staying power,” meaning that even when the current members of the committee are no longer involved, the pamphlet is designed to maintain longevity and will still be a resource for those who need it.
“Instead of my email [in the pamphlet], it is the ODEICR email so that even when I leave, that email will still be there and there will be someone answering it,” Starr said. “The [BIAC] also had several focus groups with immigrants that interpreted all the materials to make sure they weren’t missing anything.”
Junior Monica Gomez Maturana moved to Brookline from Spain last August. She said that while she has been able to become friends with other international students, she has struggled to connect with people from Brookline.
“For me it was difficult to make friends or talk with people because it’s different cultures,” Gomez Maturana said.
Gomez Maturana said that having a pamphlet detailing different activities to do in Brookline would support her social adjustment after moving from Spain.
“When I arrived here, I was like, I’m not from here so I don’t know what are the places that people go, or what teenagers do here to hang out,” Gomez Maturana said. “So I think that that would help immigrants when they come here.”
Senior Arthur Soares Rocha recently moved to Brookline from Brazil. He said that while he has felt very welcomed in Brookline, having an informational pamphlet would help his adjustment.
“[Since] I got here, I [have] just wanted to meet some people and do whatever they were doing, and just be part of something—like an activity, something to try,” Soares Rocha said.
Chicco said that in efforts to increase the pamphlet’s accessibility, the committee has distributed postcards with QR codes for the pamphlet through central spots in Brookline, such as the library, schools and senior centers. Chicco said they have also received feedback regarding potential additions they could make in future editions of the pamphlet, to continue to update it over time.
“The most heartwarming feedback that we’ve gotten is when people say, ‘Can we have more? Can we have more printed copies at this location?’ Because we want to make sure that everyone that wants a copy is able to get one,” Chicco said. “So that has been really wonderful.”
