CLEVELAND — There are a rising number of refugees resettling in Ohio. One man in northeast Ohio is working to centralize support services for the Somali community at a place that he calls a one-stop shop.

What You Need To Know

  • Idris Mohamed is the president of the Somali Community Center

  • Mohamed said he had a difficult time adjusting to life in the United States after spending 15 years in a refugee camp

  • He said the resettlement agencies that he worked with weren't always the most helpful

To make ends meet, Idris Mohamed now drives for Uber. 

“I had my own, a corner store selling different kinds of food, especially African foods,” Mohamed said, driving in the car.

Mohamed said he gave it all up in 2015 to spend more time resettling Somali refugees in northeast Ohio.

“The refugee families, especially [the] Somali community, when they arrive to Cleveland, the hardships that they’re facing, I decided to come and help them out,” Mohamed said.

As the president of the Somali Community Center, Mohamed said he wants to create a one-stop shop for all of his community’s needs. It’s a task that he was inspired to take on after his own resettlement experience.

“The civil war broke out and we flee from Somalia to Kenya, a refugee camp, and I was there about 15 years,” Mohamed said. “Then from Kenya, we had the opportunity to come to U.S.”

After living in a refugee camp for so long, Mohamed said it was a struggle for him to adjust to life in the states.

Idris Mohamed performs a purification ritual before prayer. (Jade Nash/Spectrum News 1)

“We did not have any running water in the refugee camp, we did not know how to use stuffs [sic], [and] we did not know how to ride the [bus system],” Mohamed said.

Mohamed added the resettlement agencies he relied on when he arrived weren’t always the most helpful.

“It’s not their fault because they don’t have that experience. Since I been through to that, I said, ‘I got to step in,’” Mohamed said.

He now serves as a knowledgeable resource to other Somalis who are resettling in the area, offering help with things like translating a phone call.

In addition to translation services, the Somali Community Center will offer assistance with welfare programs, mock citizenship interviews, access to tutoring and technology, and use of their prayer room. 

The Somali Community Center offers a prayer room. (Jade Nash/Spectrum News 1)

“Sometimes what I seen at my old location, before here, was sometimes they will come in, the clients, that [are] very, very strict with their religions. So, when they come in, it’s time to pray,” Mohamed said. “They want to pray and there is no space for them to pray.”

It’s all an effort to provide other Somalis in the area with an easier acclimation experience than he had.

“Especially in Cleveland, know that we are ahead of you, [and] we are here to support you,” Mohamed said.