On Monday the White House announced that it has met its goal of resettling ten thousand Syrian refugees in the 2016 fiscal year. The milestone comes as President Obama gears up to host a Leader’s Summit on Refugees, a day after the United Nations Summit for Refugees in September. At the Summit, the President is expected to call for an increased commitment in the number of refugees resettled in fiscal year 2017. While it is commendable that the United States has fulfilled its commitment for the year, that number still accounts for only 0.2% of Syrian refugees in the world today.

The New York Times reports that, while resettlement was slow to start, Syrian refugees resettled in the United States were eventually placed in 231 American towns and cities. The Times points out that slowness in the resettlement process is in large part attributable to the added layer of security screening that Syrians refugees must go through, in addition to the robust vetting process already in place, before they set foot in the United States.

What may surprise many is the fact that smaller towns are taking in more refugees than larger cities. According to the Times, Boise, Idaho has taken on more refugees than New York and Los Angeles combined. Affordability certainly accounts for much of this, but small-town America has also shown a great deal of support for refugees, who look to them as a source of rejuvenation and economic growth.

For the people of Erie, Pennsylvania and the three hundred Syrians that now call it home, the results of refugee resettlement have been overwhelmingly positive. The Atlantic gives us this profile of Erie, which has long been a home for immigrants and refugees from Europe. The town’s locals think that Erie is a perfect place for new Americans to begin building their lives—it is small, safe, friendly, and boasts great public schools. Mohammed and Yasmine Zkrit, who fled Syria with their two young daughters after their home was destroyed, agrees. “We are treated as human beings,” Mohammed said of their new Erie family, “America is a dream country.”

Echoing the outpouring of support for refugees across America, hundreds gathered last weekend on the National Mall to rally for the cause. Rally4Refugees brought together refugees, military veterans, faith leaders, doctors, and artists to share their personal experiences with the global refugee crisis. Veterans for American Ideals was there, offering attendees information on how veterans are advocating for refugee policies that are consistent with the values they fought for when they put on the uniform.

VFAI leader and U.S. Air Force veteran Alex Vasquez, the son of Nicaraguan refugees himself, spoke at the rally. Vasquez made the case for a U.S.-led solution to the world refugee crisis, which he believes is not only imperative to upholding American values, but also makes the nation more secure. Watch Staff Sergeant Vasquez’s full speech here.

The crowd, braving the Washington summer heat to hear Vasquez and others, donned the color orange—the official color of the rally, symbolizing the life preservers that so many refugees must wear during perilous journeys across the seas. Time reports that nearly three thousand refugees have died on crossing the Mediterranean, attempting to flee conflict in their home countries for Italy.

The refugees that did make it to Italy were recently given a unique opportunity to give back to their new homeland. Last week, after a devastating earthquake struck the country, refugees were among the first on the scene, pulling survivors out of the rubble and offering aid. Roberto Barbieri, director of Oxfam Italy, describes the source of the incredible humanity displayed by Italy’s refugee population after the disaster: “They are angels, not vultures; they helped because they know what it means to suffer, to lose everything, to leave behind homes destroyed by war or by natural disasters.”

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