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Steamboat Springs — In her four years at the helm of Integrated Community, Summer Laws has seen shifting trends firsthand.

Some are obvious: The number of immigrants to the Yampa Valley is increasing, and Craig has a steadier population than the costlier Steamboat Springs. Other trends are less predictable.

"It seems like people are moving back and forth between Craig and Steamboat," Laws said. "They'll move to Craig to be closer to family, and then they'll move to Steamboat to be closer to work. Then it will be too expensive, and they'll move back to Craig."

Laws founded Integrated Community, or Comunidad Integrada, with Cody Reed and others in 2004. She has worked tirelessly since then to build unity and help immigrants assimilate. The organization offers programs such as English lessons and a hot line to answer cultural questions. It has offices in Steamboat Springs and Craig.

Laws will step away from the executive director position Aug. 22. She's heading to Colorado State University in Fort Collins to take prerequisite courses to go to graduate school in nutrition. She plans to start a career in public health.

Although Laws said she would miss the people she's worked with, she said it was time for a change. The organization has been building infrastructure and programming and is in a stable place, she said.

"It seemed like I was ready and the organization was ready," Laws said.

The group reaches more than 1,000 people a year, she estimated. That population includes a variety of people with a variety of needs, Laws said. She has seen an increase in Eastern European and Latin American immigrants. Many of those Europeans are people who come on temporary visas and then want to stay.

Changes in visa laws might affect the local foreign population, Laws said. Caps on temporary H-2B visas for seasonal workers mean Steamboat will see fewer of those employees.

"It's becoming more and more difficult for employers to bring people in on those visas," Laws said.

As a result, she said, employers are looking at options such as bringing people in from U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and some Pacific islands.

Laws noted that people often don't realize how diverse the immigrant community is, though she said about 80 percent of the people Integrated Community helps are Spanish speakers. Many Mexican immigrants come from the states of Jalisco and Chihuahua, she said.

One of those immigrants is Gonzalo Mendoza, a Chihuahua native who serves on the board of Integrated Community. He has lived in the area for about five years.

"It's going up real fast," Mendoza said of the immigrant population. When "I just got here, it was hard to find even someone who could speak Spanish anywhere you go. Now, you can pretty much find Spanish-speaking people everywhere. : A lot of people are coming to town and staying here."

Integrated Community is pushing forward with its language programs, Laws said. The group has gotten funding to start an English class in Craig. It offers one-on-one lessons through volunteers in Steamboat, but the Craig program will be more of a classroom setup.

The organization helps English speakers too, Laws said. One of the most popular programs is the hotline that addresses cultural questions. People will call to ask about speaking Spanish or to better understand their foreign neighbors, Laws said. Those services are available at 620-1513 or 871-4599.

Tatiana Achcar, a Minnesota immigration lawyer, will take over Laws' post in September. Laws said she enjoyed being a part of the collaborative process of forming Integrated Community and building community connections. Those goals aren't changing with her departure.

"We still have the same mission," Laws said. "I think it's still pretty fitting that all the services we do are based on uniting people."

- To reach Blythe Terrell, call 871-4234

or e-mail bterrell@steamboatpilot.com