The City of Bowling Green announced a plan to help welcome new Americans into the community

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The City of Bowling Green announced its strategic plan for building our community and growing our economy by welcoming new Americans into our city.

The steering committee, City of Bowling Green, and consultants compiled all of the information and recommendations from 12 focused listening sessions to create a plan that focuses on creating a welcoming and safe environment for new Americans. The plans also enhances resource access and provisions around education, workforce development and entrepreneurship.

The strategic plan was launched at a luncheon and public presentation hosted at the Sloan Convention Center.

The recommendations are the result of 12 different listening sessions over the past year that brought together community leaders from multiple sectors.

The plan calls for numerous actions, including the creation of a liaison that will connect new Americans with businesses, enhancing business training for new Americans and promoting adult English language learning.

Leyda Becker, the international community’s liaison for the City of Bowling Green, said the plan seeks to develop mentorship programs to connect new Americans to business professionals.

“We want to support new American entrepreneurs who are trying to open new businesses locally,” said Becker.

Robert Boone, the president and CEO of South-Central Workforce Development Board said the job opportunities expected to open up over the next decade are wonderful opportunities for new Americans to succeed.

“New Americans bring a lot of vibrance to the workforce, a lot of diversity to the workforce and really benefit our community as community members but also our economy as employees in our region,” said Boone.

The plan also has multiple steps that would promote pathways to skilled trades and support foreign-credentialed new Americans with credential evaluation and state licensure pathway navigation.

The conclusion of the steering committee’s findings was to not let this plan sit, but to begin implementation steps as soon as possible by identifying goals, drafting measurable outcomes, and creating a clear timeline for implementation.

City officials say the terminology “new American” is referring to any foreign-born individual who currently lives in Bowling Green and Warren County regardless of their immigration status.

Immigrants made up 10% of students under 18 who attended public schools in the county in 2016.

Also in 2016, over 11,000 immigrants lived in Warren County.