Catholic Charities of Central Texas will still serve refugees through its six remaining programs (Photo by Maggie Quinlan)
Last fiscal year, 700 refugees were welcomed into their new communities by Catholic Charities of Central Texas.
They came from Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Cuba, mostly, the nonprofit says. They fled war, poverty, and Communism. Most of them landed in Austin and its surrounding suburbs, where staff and volunteers at CCCTX’s refugee resettlement program helped them in almost every aspect of the transition. They had support as they found housing and jobs, signed kids up for school, and applied to receive welfare.
But the refugee resettlement program was funded primarily through federal dollars, and with that funding frozen, the org has been forced to dissolve the program, said Allison Cavazos, who is interim executive director at CCCTX. Though the program accounted for more than a third of the charity’s total budget and CCCTX has now laid off 30 staff, Cavazos says they’re still serving refugees in every way they can.
CCCTX’s other six programs – including counseling services and pregnancy and parenting support – are open to anyone in need, including refugees, Cavazos says. Last fiscal year, the organization served 14,000 people total.
“We are grateful for the support of our community,” Cavazos says. “I think it’s important for people to know that our mission and our commitment to our community does remain strong.”
There’s a chance CCCTX could get this funding back. Catholic Charities Fort Worth, the nonprofit organization that serves as Texas’ refugee resettlement office, is suing the Trump administration to restore the $36 million in funding it distributes to its Texas partners for refugee support. “These are documented immigrants receiving Congressionally mandated benefits,” the suit argues.
The suit says across Texas more than 10,000 refugees who receive services from the nonprofit have not been able to receive their Refugee Cash Assistance payments, which has led to “evictions from apartments, apartment occupancy dropping, and the potential that apartment complexes will not be able to operate and owners will have to sell and shut down operations.”
CCCTX will be closely following how this plays out in court. But for now, they’re encouraging community members to donate and volunteer.
“It makes a huge difference as we come together as a community to give back to these families,” Cavazos says. “We know that they are resilient, but we also know that these support services truly help them as they settle into life here, as they contribute to our local community. They just add so much to our community.”