Jan 27, 2024 By Mark Hofmann 6 min read

As the number of immigrants grows in the area, so does the need to help them fully integrate into their new communities.

Programs in Fayette and Washington counties are there to help.

“We have a lot of the immigrant population, but they don’t know how to look for the resources,” said Erika Riedmann, who coordinates and volunteers at the free English as a Second Language (ESL) program at East End United Community Center (EEUCC) in Uniontown.

Riedmann said she realized there was a great need for ESL classes in Fayette County through her job with the family and child social services company Justice Works Youth Care. She reached out to EEUCC and volunteered to start holding them.

Over her time teaching the grant-funded program, Riedmann said she’s worked with people who came to Fayette from Fiji, Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Argentina and Guatemala.

It was a necessary program, said EEUCC Executive Director Steve Strange.

“The need for classes where immigrants are taught English is on the rise and showing success with those students’ easier assimilation into the culture,” he noted.

The EEUCC program got off the ground with a small bit of grant funding. That money went toward use of the organization’s facility and field trips to help students immerse themselves into the local community and practice their English skill.

Riedmann said students go grocery stores and restaurants and have visited Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus to interact with students there.

“It’s very hands-on and very straightforward,” Riedmann said, adding the employees and managers at any of the places the students visit have always been helpful and patient.

The classes, which run every Wednesday, started in March 2023.

To Riedmann’s surprise, the response was good, and she quickly found herself teaching 20 students who are making their way through five levels of ESL.

And while the progression from level to level is slow, those who go through all of the levels are considered fluent in English, she said.

The group she is teaching now is at that first level.

Elizabeth Ortiz from New Salem has been a ESL student since the program was implemented. She spoke about how proud she was to call and make a doctor’s appointment on her own.

“I’m not as scared to speak anymore,” Ortiz said, with a little help from Riedmann. “It’s excellent. People are very friendly with me, and they understand my English is not very good.”

Another student, Delmar Gomez of Uniontown, has also been involved with the program since the beginning and said his ability to communicate has improved. As a food delivery driver, he said he became better at interacting with customers.

The ESL program also builds confidence in students, Riedmann said.

Veronica Lopez of Uniontown was very shy when she first joined the classes, but the more she learned, the more she came out of her shell and talked to others.

“Communicating has been a little challenging for her, but step by step,” Riedmann said.

Noemy Lopez of Uniontown was a later addition to the program as she started last summer. She said the classes have helped her learn to ask for help and greet people. Her goal: to be able to have a casual conversation in English.

“The participants in the ESL classes are so appreciative,” Strange said, crediting Riedmann for the program’s success.

While classes are part of the learning process, Riedmann said non-native speakers can also benefit from help from others in the community. She said those who may be speaking to someone who isn’t fluent in English can gently correct them if they misuse or mispronounce a word.

“That makes them feel acknowledged,” Riedmann said. “It makes them feel good and they learn because, in reality, that’s what they need.”

She also suggested talking slowly and clearly, which gives those learning English a better chance of understanding.

And, said Riedmann, don’t be afraid to ask non-native English speakers about the country of origin or culture.

“We love where we come from and love our countries,” Riedmann said. “I use the opportunity to teach people about Mexico and say how much I love it; they want to share where they’re from.”

With the little funding they had now gone, Strange said the EEUCC is seeking long-term funding for the ESL program. He hopes to make ESL classes “a staple in the services that EEUCC provides.”

He said $5,000 can cover close to 10 months of the program, though that cost will increase as more students join.

The program in Fayette County is not the only one in the region.

The Literacy Council of Southwestern PA (LCSPA) in Washington County has operated an ESL program for the past 14 years, and in the past few years there’s been a significant increase in interest.

Brandi Miller, the executive director for the LCSPA, said their enrollment numbers for the ESL program, pre-pandemic, were around 240 to 250 students with around 20 classes offered. In recent years, the numbers nearly tripled and the council now offers 50 classes, seven days a week. More than four dozen tutors volunteer to teach them.

In 2023, just over 600 students took classes, and 539 are enrolled this year.

Miller said the increase is due to a growing immigrant population across Washington, Greene, Fayette and Westmoreland counties.

In Charleroi, she said, there are around 2,000 immigrants from 44 counties, including China, Spain, Haiti and Indonesia.

As a volunteer-run, nonprofit organization, Miller said they raise money for the costs needed and do not use grant funding for the free classes.

Like EEUCC, the literacy council classes move through levels. They also offer advanced classes and help students begin GED classes.

“It depends how much English they want to learn,” Miller said, adding that all their state testing is provided by Intermediate Unit 1, which covers Washington, Fayette, Greene and Westmoreland counties and provides ESL classes as well. “It could be six months or five years.”

The council’s volunteers also help students in other ways, including helping them transfer professional credits from their country of origin, or working toward their driver’s license.

“One tutor taught a student to drive in the parking lot,” Miller said.

The council has also partnered with a food pantry in Charleroi to help students and their families with basic needs, should they need some assistance.

“They’re very grateful,” Miller said. “They’re some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet in your life. They want to better themselves and are eager to learn.”

For more information, visit the East End United Community Center at www.eeucc.org/ or the Literacy Council of Southwestern PA at www.lcswpa.org/.