Views of Springfield’s future clash and overlap; Haitian residents in the middle

Not surprisingly in our diverse and sometimes divided nation, answers ran the gamut.

But reaching some shared path forward is key, because continued bomb threats, school closures, armed racist marches and hate-filled public meetings is not the future Springfield wants, as close to 15,000 Haitians assimilate with 58,000 existing residents.

Many voices, conflicting views

Claude Coq Jr., who owns a translation and technical support services business in Springfield, said he has been in the U.S. for six years and worked hard to become a business owner, homeowner and member of the community. He said the negative attention and accusations toward Haitian immigrants like him “can affect a lot of people.”

But Coq said a positive aspect of all of this is that the world now has its eyes on Springfield and can understand some of the deeper issues, including the presence of a group of people who he said have expressed hateful sentiments toward Haitian immigrants here. He said he believes the attention to politicians who have spread falsehoods about Haitians will backfire on them.

Sue and Paul Mitchell, a Springfield area couple, also said they feel national attention could bring good things to Springfield, suggesting it could trigger needed resources.

“I think that this is all a political issue,” said Sue Mitchell. “But there are some stretches on housing and school issues, as a lot of children don’t speak English. So any help would be a very positive thing.”

“There is a need for more services for them,” Paul Mitchell said.

Despite the city’s “Forward Together” messaging, other Springfield residents have a negative opinion of Haitian immigrants, and think they get too many resources already. Steven Skaggs called the Haitian influx into Springfield overwhelming.

“They don’t know how to drive, the housing is horrible ... I don’t know how they give them money for cars and everything, and they don’t give us nothing,” Skaggs said. “How is that OK? Why would you give them something when we’re American citizens and we can’t have nothing. They’re taking away from everything we got, and we’re still poor. I understand the right to freedom, but I just don’t think it’s that logical to let them have (so much) for free, and we gotta sit here and struggle.”

As the News-Sun has previously reported, immigrants with proper documentation who meet financial thresholds can be eligible for some of the same programs as low-income Americans — Medicaid, food stamps and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. In certain cases, new immigrants can also get refugee cash assistance, according to Clark County Job and Family Services.

Thomas Brown of North Hampton was in Springfield on Thursday and he also said he thinks Haitian immigrants are not good for the area.

“They shouldn’t be here I don’t think ... I think there’s too many people in here. We’ve got too many hungry people already here, and not enough housing, not enough jobs,” Brown said.

Asked if he thought Haitians were taking jobs from native Springfielders, he first said, “I think they’re not even working yet,” then acknowledged, “I don’t know about that, I’m not real sure.” Asked if it was right that Haitians get free help and benefits, he laughed and said, “Well ... everybody needs help.”

Focusing on the future

William Green, who grew up in Springfield, said the city’s problems can’t all be blamed on Haitian immigrants, and he thinks the city needs to come together.

“I don’t think we should be getting on there and talking about the Haitians,” Green said. “We should be talking about something else that’s going on in Springfield, Ohio, or what could be better about Springfield, Ohio.”

Greg Vieth of Springfield was happy to talk about exactly that — what could change for the better — and he had two clear ideas.

First, he said, is the harsh attitude so often seen toward immigrants, adding that as someone who works outside a lot, he encounters plenty of people, and he’s never had a bad interaction with a Haitian.

But he said the problem with many Haitians’ poor driving — spotlighted by, but not limited to last year’s fatal school bus crash — needs to be addressed, quickly. He said a big push for more driver training wouldn’t totally solve the problem, but it would help.

National attention a surprise

Abbie Powell, a resident of Springfield for 70 years, said she’s frustrated with the national attention, feeling the claims are politically motivated.

“This is not a good thing to be on the map about,” she said while talking to a reporter outside a Kroger shopping center in northern Springfield. “And the rumors are just ridiculous.”

But she’s not sure Springfield will remain in national headlines for long, and she doesn’t think much change will come from the spotlight.

“They’re not going to keep Springfield on the tip of their tongues,” she said. “We’ll be back in the basement before long.”

Shelley Barney and her daughter, Madison, said it feels strange to have people across the country talking about their town. They talked to a reporter outside of Groceryland in south Springfield.

“It’s an odd little thing,” Madison Barney said. “And it’s upsetting, to have people who live here talked about like that.”

Shelley Barney said she understands and respects people wanting to leave dangerous circumstances and better themselves and feels many of her Haitian neighbors are doing just that.

She hopes her city being at the center of national discourse will bring resources related to traffic safety to Springfield. But both Barneys said assimilation into a new country is a process.

Willingness to speak

Our reporters tried to get dozens of everyday residents to talk about the Haitian immigration conflict in the past week — what they thought of the issues or attention, what they hoped would improve — and the most common answer was, “no thanks.”

One woman who was walking out of a grocery store would not give her name to a reporter, but said she has concerns with a population of newer residents adding strain to the housing supply, healthcare system, and schools. But she feels it’s hard to voice those concerns publicly and doesn’t want to offend others or be called racist.

Daniel Peterson, who was picking up his child from Lagonda Elementary School, said he has heard plenty of people willing to say alarming things about Haiti for years. He’s a Haitian man who has been a U.S. citizen for nearly two decades. He said he feels local rumors caught fire because of the upcoming presidential election.

“Good citizens in Springfield, and Ohio and the world know it’s not true,” Peterson said of rumors related to Haitian immigrants in Springfield stealing and killing people’s pets for food.

But Peterson said some good can come from the nation eyeing Springfield.

“When I moved down here, Springfield was a little town,” Peterson said. He’s previously lived in Florida and New York. “And people have been asking for help. I know this could be a good thing for Springfield. I know all the requests, they’re going to be answered.”

Hoping to build or trying to leave

Vilès Dorsainvil, the president of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center in Springfield, said his hope is that people building the future of Springfield will approach the situation more inclusively.

“... It is the value of America, a land of the free, where human rights should be respected. Where people should be treated with respect and dignity no matter where you come from or regardless of your skin color, the language that you speak or whatever religion that you practice,” Dorsainvil said. “I am optimistic that if we understand that humanity, we’re going to have a peaceful community here in Springfield.”

Tabitha Sloat, who was picking up her daughter after Springfield’s Fulton Elementary was evacuated due to a bomb threat Thursday, said her family is trying to leave the city, and her daughter is dealing with class sizes that are “too big,” a result of the city being “overpopulated.” She said she hopes the attention leads to “actual issues” being addressed.

Rich Dixon of Springfield said he lives next door to Haitian residents, but rarely sees them. Asked about the biggest problem he sees in the community, Dixon mentioned an issue hitting everywhere from Dayton to Springfield to Xenia — increased housing prices. Dixon said prices have risen so much that many people can no longer afford it. “And it seems like now it’s going up again.”

Where to go from here?

Aaron Roy, faith community crisis response director at the Nehemiah Foundation said the big change he wants to see is an end to false narratives like pets being eaten or people being here illegally, or Haitians stealing jobs.

“The debunking needs to happen, and the misinformation needs to stop. People are rallying around things that aren’t true, and then they’re acting on them,” Roy said. “When people hear that 99% of the people here are here legally, that breaks down a wall, and you’re not calling people illegals ... and people become human. ... When there’s misinformation as your starting point, it just turns into a powder keg of tension and hatred. ... We need to continue, until we’re blue in the face to state facts, in love, in grace, but also back those facts up. Some people aren’t going to listen regardless, but I think we have to continue to say it, and say it united.”

Shandra Forsha, a new Springfield resident, said she feels it’s a shame that it took “sensationalization” to get eyes on the real problems in Springfield like overcrowding, rental property costs increasing, and hospitals and schools having to spend more money on translation and interpretation services. She said she hopes people in authoritative positions will help because of the attention.

Forsha said there is an “immigration issue” all over the state with too many people coming into areas that she said are already struggling.

“They’re just overpopulating these cities with immigrants and they’re not designated sanctuary cities,” Forsha said.

Luckens Merzius, a Haitian interpreter and outreach worker at the Clark County Combined Health District said Haitians are a resilient people and hard-working.

“In every country, you have good and bad people, you know, and you have people with higher IQ and you have people with lower IQ,” he said. “I understand the concept of Springfield; it’s a small city and then, you know, we had an influx of Haitians so they need more resources to accommodate. There’s a way to sit together and then to see how we can resolve it.”

News-Sun staffers Jeremy P. Kelley, Bill Lackey and Marshall Gorby contributed to this report.