Essay on Improving Housing Options for East African Immigrants in the City of Lynn, MA

Abstract

Immigrants from the East African region have continued to flock the city of Lynn in search of better lives. However, upon arrival in the city, a majority of these individuals are faced with poor housing services. The main problem stems from the fact that these persons fail to prepare in advance of their arrival. Instead of looking for houses to settle for a while still in their countries, they start their house-hunt after arrival. Other than such cases, the low house supply in the U.S market has meant that the rental fees have escalated to the extent that the migrants cannot afford. This situation has forced a significant proportion of them to settle in pitiable neighborhoods that have numerous housing issues. The problems found in such settlement include poor sanitation, overcrowding, and poor relations with the landlords. This paper presents the possible options that can be used to address the housing problems facing the East African immigrants living in the city of Lynn, MA. The propositions were drawn after surveying the members of this region living in Lynn. The respondents gave their views on the housing problems facing them and what the courses of actions that they deem appropriate to settle these issues. Some of the recommendations that this report discussed at length include availing affordable houses in migrant zones in the city, affording excellent employment opportunities for the migrants, providing financial services to the legal immigrants, and improving the sanitation of the neighborhoods that these persons settle. However, other proposals have also been discussed in detail on how to alleviate the housing conditions of these immigrants.

Introduction

The challenge of housing among the residents of Massachusetts has continued affecting the growth and development of various cities in the state. More so, immigrants who live in the major cities of the state are the most affected lot. Research by the American Council of Immigration (2012) states that the largest proportion of African immigrants in the United States comes from Eastern and Western Africa. The East African immigrants who settle in the city of Lynn experience housing problems just as other immigrants from other regions of the world who seek asylum in the United States. According to the Immigrant Learning Center (2013), access to affordable and quality housing has become a problem for the immigrants who come into the country in search of peace and prosperity. As a result, the immigrants are forced to live in shanty shelters as a consequence of the high cost of housing in the city of Lynn. The high cost of housing adds onto the high cost of living which is worsened by the fact that these immigrants may not have well-paying jobs. As a consequence, they have to distribute their meager wages in such a manner that they can afford a house, access clean and hygienic food, as well as take their children to school. The fact that the East African region is a developing part of the world means that the immigrants have to ensure that they send back a significant amount of their wages and salaries to their relatives back in their home countries.

Research Problem

Many East African immigrants come to the city of Lynn, MA in search of a better life than that found in their countries. The East African region includes nations such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. These areas are faced with numerous social and economic challenges such as increased unemployment, inadequate incomes, drought, and famine, among others. Therefore, those who are fortunate to get a visa to the United States have the perception that their lives will change significantly. Those immigrants who settle in the city of Lynn, however, are faced with the problem of housing. The problems of housing start immediately after the persons settle in the city. In many cases, these individuals fail to find a house before traveling to the city and opt to stay in motels for the first few days while searching for affordable houses. Therefore, this reluctance in finding a house before deciding to settle in the city forms the basis of their problems. Furthermore, the houses that they find are cheap but not conducive to their survival. The high costs of homes in the city in combination with the fact that they do not find well-paying jobs are the main causes of the housing problem among the East African immigrants in the city of Lynn, MA. The state of sanitation in many of the immigrants' homes is also one of the leading causes of alarm that needs to be addressed. As seen, a majority of the housing problems are beyond the control of the immigrants, and therefore, there is need to involve other stakeholders when establishing the solutions. These stakeholders include the housing agents, the local, state, and federal governments, as well as the property-owners.

Research Question

What are the possible options available to the East African Immigrants in the city of Lynn, MA? Despite the fact that the immigrants from East Africa settle in Lynn with the expectations of a comfortable life, they often struggle with accessing affordable housing. Therefore, I decided to undertake this project as a means to propose possible solutions in addressing the housing problems of this proportion of the population. These immigrants need to secure affordable and conducive housing to enable them to live up to their expectations. Furthermore, the proposed solutions may also be applied in addressing the housing problem in other parts of the country where the immigrants have settled.

Project Overview

The objective set for this study is to ensure that possible solutions to the housing crisis among East African immigrants in the city of Lynn are established. The main force behind this project is the fact that I have witnessed the turmoil and unending suffering among this population of immigrants which I feel is prejudicial and would, therefore, wish to draw possible courses of actions that the municipal council and the state government can pursue to alleviate the living conditions of these persons. By so doing, I wish to encourage the East Africans who immigrate to the United States that they can be guaranteed of quality housing without much pressure.

Research Methodology

Being the sole investigator in this study meant that I had to administer the questionnaires to the selected respondents. The researcher had to establish the main causes of the housing problem among the East African immigrants. Both open and closed-ended questions were administered to ensure that all the issues pertinent to the topic of study are addressed. The responses given formed the basis of formulating reliable housing solutions for the immigrants. Other than the use of questionnaires, secondary resources were used to supplement the responses from the questionnaires as well as to determine the viable ways in which the housing crisis would be addressed. Twenty respondents were employed in this study.

The closed-ended questions used during the interviews included:

(Yes/no questions)

Do you have a stable and reliable source of income?

Is the cost of housing affordable?

Do the immigration agencies check on you regularly?

Did you find a house before coming to settle in Lynn?

Are you comfortable in the house that you are living in?

Are the property-owners discriminative?

After settling in the city of Lynn, were you warmly welcomed by the residents?

Furthermore, the following open-ended questions were used to ensure the respondents expressed their views on the housing problems without being limited.

How many people do you live with in your house?

What are some of the actions that the local government has taken in ensuring that your housing needs are taken care of?

Who helped you during the house search?

Other than high rental fees, what are the other problems associated with housing?

What steps do you think the local or federal government should take to ensure that the problem of housing is addressed effectively?

Data Collection and Analysis

All the twenty respondents were collaborative and answered the questions to the best of their knowledge. For those who failed to comprehend one or more questions, I offered the required help to ensure that I collected reliable information. It is also important to note that all the respondents used in this study were adults above the age of eighteen.

In the socio-demographic category, there were twelve male and eight female respondents. The latter represents sixty and forty percent respectively. Additionally, the respondents came from three East African nations namely Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. Out of the twenty respondents, six were Kenyans, four were Ugandans, and ten were Rwandese. The above represented thirty, twenty, and fifty percent in that order.

Moving on to the closed-ended questions, the responses given were as follows:

Do you have a stable and reliable source of income?

Yes: 4 respondents

No: 16 respondents

Is the cost of housing affordable?

Yes: 3 respondents

No: 17 respondents

Do the immigration agencies check on you regularly?

Yes: 0 respondents

No: 20 respondents

Did you find a house before coming to settle in Lynn?

Yes: 2 respondents

No: 18 respondents

Are you comfortable in the house that you are living in?

Yes: 1 respondent

No: 19 respondents

Are the property-owners discriminative?

Yes: 9 respondents

No: 11 respondents

After settling in the city of Lynn, were you warmly welcomed by the residents?

Yes: 5 respondents

No: 15 respondents

On the other hand, the responses to the open-ended questions were presented as follows:

How many people do you live with in your house?

Five respondents indicated that they lived with three other individuals in their houses while two of them mentioned that they lived with five other persons. Additionally, three respondents reported that they, in fact, shared their houses with other families that were not their relatives. Five other respondents specified that they lived only with their spouses while three others said that they lived with six other persons. Finally, two participants claimed that they lived alone.

What is the size of your house?

Ten of the respondents showed that they lived in a two bedroom apartment despite being crowded. Five other participants shared that they lived in a one bedroom house...