WASHINGTON, D.C. – In advance of World Refugee Day this coming Saturday, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today spoke on the Senate floor about the work done by Tree Street Youth to provide young people in the Lewiston-Auburn area with the tools, support, and confidence they need to succeed. The efforts, which benefit young members of Maine’s refugee population, help bring together students from all different backgrounds.

“Tree Street Youth has proven to be a tremendous resource in Lewiston and Auburn, particularly for young people from immigrant families. The support services and sense of community provided at Tree Street empowers these young people to be independent, productive members of society,” said Senator King. “And while integrating into the community can be difficult for recent immigrants, refugees, and their families, the Tree Street experience helps to connect young people to their peers and the community as a whole. This is a two-way street of understanding that helps bring everyone together.”

“This is what America is all about. It’s about families from around the world finding a new start, bringing with them new perspectives and new hope for the future,” he continued. “It’s about a melting pot of people, cultures, and ideas that combine to create a tapestry that is much stronger than any of its individual threads.”

Tree Street Youth was founded in 2011 by Julia Sleeper and Kim Sullivan, both of whom attended Bates College in Lewiston. The organization is dedicated to supporting young people in the Lewiston-Auburn area through academics, the arts, and athletics. It provides a safe space to promote healthy physical, social, emotional, and academic development – featuring arts, college prep, and job training programs. In May, Tree Street Youth hosted its first annual banquet, which showcased many of the students’ talents and provided them a chance to share their experiences. King visited Tree Street Youth last April and met with Executive Director Julia Sleeper, staff, and volunteers who serve hundreds of kids on a daily basis.

Senator King’s remarks are the latest installment of “Good News from Maine”, in which he takes time to recognize positive developments in Maine on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Senator King has previously highlighted the eagle cane project that provides wooden canes with a carved bald eagle head to any Maine veteran who would like one, and the chronic pain research conducted at the University of New England.  

Senator King’s remarks on the floor can be viewed HERE, and broadcast quality video can be downloaded HERE.

The text of his remarks, as prepared for delivery, is below:

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Today, I come to the Senate floor with some good news from my state of Maine. With World Refugee Day on the horizon this Saturday, I would like to highlight an organization that is making a difference in Maine by helping young people – particularly young refugees from Somalia, Sudan, and other African countries – to expand their own horizons. As the roots of our refugee and immigrant population continue to grow stronger in Maine – and in the process, strengthen our communities – a group called Tree Street Youth is helping to nurture that growth, one student at a time.

Maine’s history, like the rest of America, is inexorably linked to immigration. With the exception of our native tribes, we are all from somewhere else originally. It began with European immigrants from England, Scotland, Ireland, then people with French heritage came down from Canada, and Swedes settled in northern Aroostook County. For years, immigrants found work in Maine’s busy mill towns. Now their descendants are our local leaders, our business owners, our neighbors, friends and family.

And just as previous waves of immigrants have come to Maine in search of a better life for themselves and their children, newer immigrants – including refugees, asylees, and asylum seekers, from Somalia, South Sudan, and several Central African countries – are making new homes in Maine and making Maine more diverse, more dynamic, and a better place in the process.

And I think it’s important to point out that the refugees are people who we’ve invited to come to this country because the conditions in their former countries were so unstable or because they feared persecution. These are people looking for a new start who are willing to work hard. But like anyone who finds themselves in a new wholly unfamiliar situation, they can use some help and support. And groups like Tree Street Youth are so important and can have such significant impact because they smooth the transition and help promote cooperation and understanding within the community.

Founded in 2011 by two former Bates College students – Julia Sleeper and Kim Sullivan – who recognized the need for such a group, Tree Street Youth is dedicated to supporting young people in the Lewiston-Auburn area through academics, the arts, and athletics. The organization, which originally grew out of an after school homework help program, now provides local youth with a safe space to promote healthy physical, social, emotional, and academic development. Through its flourishing arts, college prep, and job training programs, Tree Street is not only giving young people the tools, support, and confidence they need to succeed, it’s also helping to bring students from all different backgrounds together. 

Tree Street Youth has proven to be a tremendous resource in Lewiston and Auburn, particularly for young people from immigrant families. The support services and sense of community provided at Tree Street empowers these young people to be independent, productive members of society. And while integrating into the community can be difficult for recent immigrants, refugees, and their families, the Tree Street experience helps to connect young people to their peers and the community as a whole. This is a two-way street of understanding that helps bring everyone together.

Take, for example, Tree Street Youth’s first annual banquet that happened in May. This fun and emotional event was a showcase of sorts that allowed the Tree Street students to share some of their talents with the Lewiston-Auburn Community. I’m told that after students gave a variety of inspiring poetry readings, dance, and other performances about their experiences, it was hard to find a dry eye in the room. That really speaks to the life changing power that this organization has.

And just as Tree Street Youth improves young lives, those young people can in turn improve Maine and can improve the rest of this great country. We need motivated, talented, and creative people from all backgrounds if we are going to keep pace with the rest of the world. We need students like Muna Muhammad, who I was lucky enough to meet earlier this year when she represented Maine in the Senate Youth Program. Muna, whose family is from Somalia, is the President of her class at Lewiston High School, serves as a student representative on the Lewiston School Committee, is involved with her school’s speech, mock trial, and civil rights teams, and has a long list of other accomplishments and activities that highlight her remarkable leadership qualities.

This is what America is all about. It’s about families from around the world finding a new start, bringing with them new perspectives and new hope for the future. It’s about a melting pot of people, cultures, and ideas that combine to create a tapestry that is much stronger than any of its individual threads.

Welcoming new people and cultures hasn’t always been easy. Sometimes our differences are more immediately apparent than our similarities, but over the years, immigrants and refugees have proven to be an irreplaceable part of America. Tree Street Youth has proven that support and community engagement can help ease the transition and create a brighter future.  That’s good news from Maine, and good news for the country.

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