Somalian Immigrant Founds Nonprofit to Help Immigrant Community Understand and Navigate Substance Use

When she was three years old, Amran Osman, who was born in Somalia, came with her mom to Lewiston, Maine. She learned English quickly, but when she entered school, she realized how different she was. “I was the only Somali person wearing a hijab, which kicked off an identity crisis of figuring out who I was,” Amran says.   

Amran kept her struggles quiet. She didn’t want to burden her mother, who worked multiple jobs. She hoped that by excelling in school—taking AP classes and diving into debate team and Key Club—she would feel she belonged.  At age 14, she became a U.S. citizen. “It made me feel like I belonged and included among my peers who were born here once I could say, ‘Yes, I am an American,’” she says.  

Over time, Amran found her place as a caregiver. As her family grew to include eight siblings, she embraced “the big sister in me,” she says. In her senior year of high school, she became a certified nursing assistant and worked at an assisted living facility, Clover Health Care, in Auburn, while also studying at Central Maine Community College. “I have always been a giver and wanted to take care of others,” she says. But it was after she transferred to the University of Southern Maine (USM) in 2018 and started a degree in political science that Amran found her voice and her purpose. 

On USM’s campus, Amran was surrounded by students of color, Muslims, and other immigrants. This community gave her the confidence to speak up in class and on campus. Amran started organizing spaces where students could discuss their experiences with discrimination. “I wanted more students of color to feel safe and welcome, especially in the place they call home,” she says. She joined the student senate and the president’s cabinet as the director of racial equity and inclusion.   

In 2021, after receiving her bachelor’s degree, her 20-year-old brother overdosed. Amran became determined to help all Mainers of color share their struggles with substance use and mental illness, and find support. She founded the nonprofit Generational Noor, which helps immigrant households better understand and combat substance abuse. Now 25, Amran has connected hundreds of Mainers to culturally sensitive programing, discussions, and treatment. “Being someone who’s grown up in a similar environment, I want to show youth of color that we all struggle with something,” she says. “But I hear you, I see you, I’m here.”