As of 2012, the Somali population comprises around 5,000 individuals.
[9]
Somalis have opened up community centers to cater to their community. In 2001, the non-profit organization United Somali Women of Maine (USWM) was founded in Lewiston, seeking to promote the empowerment of Somali women and girls across the state.
[10]
The rise of working age immigrants coupled with government funded programs to re-establish a thriving economy in Lewiston are the two biggest reasons for the economic renaissance experiences in Lewiston-Auburn in the past decade.
[11] In 2006, KPMG International released a study identifying the best places to do business around the world and ranked Lewiston as the best in New England.
[12] In January 2009,
Newsweek associated a drop in crime rate, soaring income per capita and increased business activity in Lewiston with recent immigration to the town by Somalis.
[13]
In August 2010, the
Lewiston Sun Journal reported that Somali entrepreneurs had helped reinvigorate downtown Lewiston by opening dozens of shops in previously closed storefronts. Amicable relations were also reported by the local merchants of French-Canadian descent and the Somali storekeepers.
[14]
In 2010, several Somali immigrants, now citizens of the United States and residents of Portland, filed to run for the
Maine Legislature. Mohammed Dini ran in District 119 in a
Democratic Party primary; Badr Sharif ran in the
Republican Party primary for District 116, both of which are located in the city of Portland. Both candidates were defeated in primary challenges.
[15]
In June 2011, the
Lewiston Sun Journal noted the growing number of Somali recent immigrants earning high school degrees, with more enrolling in local community colleges. The university students consist of both adult undergraduate and continuing education pupils, as well as high school graduates.
[16][17]