Kansas City Refugee Resettlement Funds Cut

This report offers an important glimpse at KC becoming less "welcoming" to new arrivals both legal and otherwise . . . Here's a glimpse . . .

But resettlement agencies, including four in the Kansas City area, say they are struggling to continue their work. They have not been reimbursed for expenses incurred since before Trump took office. And two of the agencies —  Jewish Vocational Service of Kansas City (JVS) and Della Lamb Community Services  — said the federal government owes them close to $1 million each.

JVS has an annual budget of about $10.5 million, while Della Lamb’s is about $9.6 million.

“Nobody’s getting paid,” said Hilary Cohen Singer, executive director of JVS. “Nobody knows why. Nobody knows if it’s permanent.”

Earlier this month, JVS laid off 12 employees and eliminated 10 vacant positions in response to the federal funding freeze. Della Lamb had to lay off 19 staff members for the same reason. And Mission Adelante, a smaller resettlement agency in Kansas City, Kansas, was forced to lay off seven employees. The area’s fourth resettlement agency, Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas, could not be reached for comment.

For now, the organizations said they are relying on the community to make up for some of the lost federal funds. But they acknowledge that charitable gifts will have a hard time covering the gap.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Kansas City's struggling refugee resettlement agencies cut staff and turn to the public for help