Following the Trump administration’s suspension of refugee resettlement funding, local nonprofits struggle to maintain services.
World Relief Quad Cities helps families resettle from countries such as Afghanistan and Ukraine. But, due to federal funding cuts, Wellness Manager and Mental Health Provider Habie Timbo says nearly 80% of the organization’s funding is frozen.
“In the next couple weeks, we might not have the staff that can even do some of that coordination, so I think that’s a real fear of not being able to kind of be the centralized point for it.”
Timbo says the cuts prevent the nonprofit from providing once-promised services, such as food and rent assistance, to over 200 refugees.
"Basic things that they were expecting to get. It’s unimaginable that we can’t give them those very basic things that they have the right to have.”
The Quad Cities Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees (QCAIR) assists immigrants in citizenship outreach and neccesary application processes, such as Medicad and SNAP. Executive Director Amy DeHaven says thanks to state-funding through the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, their organization has not received any cuts yet.
However, DeHaven says many clients are too fearful to seek help.
“With individuals being afraid to leave their home, it’s something where we may have to be a little bit more creative with how we serve people, how we help them, and how we get them the resources that they need.”
DeHaven says this fear is present among all refugee nonprofits, both client and staff alike. Akwaaba Quad Cities President and CEO Nana Ouro-Agoro said she agrees.
AwkaabaQC is an organization that aims to integrate refugees into the local community through language-barrier assistance and more. She says fear has overtaken their community and clients.
“And they believe that the United States is a country of freedom, where they can come and get refuge, right? But, with this going on now, they don’t know what to do. They feel lost.”
She said AwkaabaQC will be hosting a Know Your Rights Training on Saturday, February 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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