It's been ten years since the first wave of Somali refugees first arrived in Lewiston, changing the face and the social fabric of the former Franco American mill town and sparking an ongoing discussion about the definition of community. In those ten years, several bias incidents have made national headlines. And the city's reputation for being a welcoming place has been repeatedly called into question. But as residents, social service workers and city leaders look back, they see lots of reasons to cheer Lewiston's accomplishments -- and to work to replicate them.

Eight years ago, it was the former Lewiston mayor's open letter to the Somali community that made national headlines. In it he expressed concern about the effects of the in-migration on city and school services. "We have been overwhelmed and have responded valiantly," Mayor Laurier Raymond wrote. "Now we need breathing room. Our city is maxed out financially, physically and emotionally."

While Raymond's letter may have been misunderstood, it was hurtful to the new residents. A white supremacist group took note and planned a rally that was eventually drowned out by young activists, as well as a counter demonstration on the other side of town, where ralliers chanted, "Nazis Out! Nazis Out! This is our community! Nazis Out! Nazis Out."

At the time, there were several hundred Somalis living in Lewiston. Now there are about 5,000, and new mayor Larry Gilbert says the city is a different place. "I look at the apartment buildings that they're living in and I say, 'What if they weren't here? Those buildings would be empty and what would our tax revenue be?' So I really think they're adding to the economy. And I think that that's something that that's people just don't realize. They think that the system is being drained, when in fact, they're contributing to it."

Gilbert says welfare assistance for Somali immigrants makes up only about ten percent of the city's entire welfare budget. And when you look at Lisbon Street, the primary artery running through the downtown, about two blocks are now made up of Somali-owned businesses.

Despite these achievements, cultural stereotypes and myths are difficult to break down. "I think a lot of us have good in us and I think if you take the moment and you educate the person, that person can turn around," says Fatuma Hussein of the group United Somali Women of Maine.

Hussein and Mayor Gilbert were among those attending a conference titled, "Advice for America: What Lewiston-Auburn has Learned Since 2000 About Fostering Relationships Between Residents and Newcomers." Hussein has lived in Lewiston for nine years. She says when she first arrived, there was a definite tension boiling just beneath the suface of what she describes as a very white and very reserved town.

She describes being confronted by a woman in the supermarket one summer day. "In the Somali culture you wear very bright colors, and this woman just attacked me from one of the other lanes and said, 'Do you think it's Halloween trying to wear all these clothes?' referring to all my bright colors. And I thought for a moment and I said, 'Look, lady, I don't even know what Halloween is, neither do I celebrate Halloween. However, this is my culture. This is who I am. This is where I came from.'"

Hussein says what happened next was unexpected. She says she could see in the woman's face that her explanation was having an effect. And there were other people watching them, which made the moment even more profound. "She apologized and I apologized and we both became emotional, but we also had this crowd looking at the interraction and what is going to come out of this? It could have gone the other way too, but I chose to use that as a moment."

Steve Wessler is executive director of the newly named Center for Preventing Hate, which sponsored the conference. Wessler says change can only happen one person at a time. But he says when someone reaches across barriers, the implications are huge. Take the well-publicized incident in which a pig's head was rolled into a Lewiston mosque, disrupting services and once again raising tension and fear of violence in the city.

"I recall that shortly after the incident with the pig's head, I put together a focus group of Somali students at Edward Little High School to talk about what their concerns were," Wessler recalls. "And this one young man named Mustaf said that the day before he had been driving in his parents car and stopped at a red light. His car window was down and an American-born caucasian man on the opposite side of the street catches his eye and then this man just starts running at full tilt across both lanes to come up to his window."

Mustaf told Wessler he was terrified. Was the man going to hurt him? What should he do? "And this member of the community said, "I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about what happened at your mosque and I am so glad you and other Somalis are here in our community.'"

Stories like these often get far less attention than stories like the mayor's letter or the pig's head. But Mayor Gilbert, Fatuma Hussein, Steve Wessler and others say Lewiston has come a long way in ten years. There are more social service and support agencies in place. The schools and police departments have undergone diversity training. The Center for Preventing Hate has sponsored a popular series of community dialogues that include Somali residents, and what once used to be thought of as a "city hall" problem has been embraced by institutions such as Bates College and the local hospitals.

Now some of Lewiston's lessons are about to be shared around the country by the Center for Preventing Hate. "What's going to be happening is we're going to be going to immigration hot spots," Wessler says.

Wessler says the Center has received a three-year, $470,000 grant from the Office of Refugee Resettlement to get immigrants and long-time residents in four cities to interract for the benefit of both. Wessler says it's the first time the Office has tried to focus on the prevention of "in-migration" bias.

And even as Lewiston looks to improve its own reputation, it will be used as a model for what can be done right.