US Catholic Charity Agencies continue to be affected by frost financing | The National Catholic Register

Several local Catholic charity agencies from all over the country have been forced to dismiss employees and close programs as a result of federal federal aid frost last month.

Catholic charity in Florida, Texas and Kansas talked this week about how the financing freezing affected both the program specific and the agency level.

Since President Donald Trump has issued a directive that stopped all the external aid for a 90 -day review, federal financing has been blocked for US Catholic charity, affecting migrant and refugee service programs.

Catholic charity in Texas announces the closing of the refugee program

Catholic charity in Texas Panhandle announced on Monday that he had made the decision “with a heavy heart” that he will endlessly suspend his refugee relocation program.

“Catholic charity proudly helped reinstall refugees legally authorized to settle here by the US State Department in the mid-1970s,” the organization said in a press release, according to Local news reports. “We offer our sincere gratitude to the organizations and people who have been associated with us to offer this ministry over the past 50 years.”

“We ask our community partners to help our team and our customers during this difficult transition period,” the organization added, mentioning that he will move the program personnel to other departments within the Agency.

Catholic charity Jacksonville sets 26

Similarly, Catholic charity Jacksonville said on Wednesday that he fired 26 employees of the Florida Agency’s refugee program, after the freezing of financing caused his office to not receive the refund of the services he has already offered in November, according to a Local report.

The agency had to receive over $ 600,000 in federal financing for the program.

The executive director of the Agency, Anita Hassell, said in the report that the organization was obliged to let the employees leave without separation following the executive order.

Now, the Catholic charity agency is trying to compensate for the freezing of financing by calling on donors.

“What we have done for each of the programs we have (is), we left someone who will be able to raise (be) the free ends and have appealed to our donors and talk to the foundations to see if we can receive money for direct assistance, so that we can continue to offer what they need,” Hassel said.

Kansas Catholic charity issues “Urgent Call for Support”

Catholic charity in the southwest of Kansas issued an “urgent call for support” after the federal government blocked the reimbursements it was contracted to receive for its migrant aid program, resulting in a financial crisis throughout the agency.

“In recent weeks, our community and nation have faced unprecedented challenges due to new executive orders that affect the program for admitting US refugees and external help,” said Executive Director Snapp in a letter addressed to the supporters of the organization. “The freezing of crucial funds is a critical threat to the southern Catholic charities -the Kansas west and our ability to continue serving those who need it.”

SNAPP declared the CNA in an interview that the agency was expected to receive almost $ 500,000 in refunds from both organizations combined for December and January.

“I find it very disappointing because I had very good partnerships with our federal financing partners,” she said. “The whole idea of ​​a public-private partnership worked very well in our communities.”

Snapp explained that the small agency in the south -the Kansas Vest leads “quite tight margins”. Therefore, when financing for its migrant program was blocked, the agency was obliged to use other unseen funds, as well as funds for donors, to pay its bills.

As a result, said SNAPP, operations throughout the agency are affected: “The things we would do, such as emergency assistance, some rental assistance, paying utility bills, we cannot do this for anyone in the community right now.”

“I had a gentleman who was in my office last Tuesday,” she recalled. “He just completed a treatment program and needed a house halfway. He had a small rent payment to be held in the middle of the house. “

“We had to tell him not because we have no funds to pay this because we are just trying to pay the bills we have every month,” she said. The agency is now throwing up to come up with ways to provide rental help as the first month approaches.

While the agency anticipated that he would have to make changes to the services he offered to the migrants under the Trump administration, Snapp said the agency was not prepared for a sudden freezing, receiving about 70 migrants in the 30 days that led to the inauguration.

“We were offered some assurances that we will have administrative funding for the rest of the fiscal year until the end of September, so that we can eliminate these programs and fulfill our obligations, especially at the new arrivals that came only 30 days before frosting,” she said.

According to SNAPP, the Agency intends to continue to provide migrant services, including work assistance and English classes, “because we hope that if the freezing will end and we have those funds that we can still provide to people.” In the last year, she said, the agency served about 1,500 people.

Like CNA reported Last week, the local agencies of Catholic charity in Dallas; Syracuse, New York; And Santa Rosa, California, were also forced to dismiss the employees and lower the program operations back due to frost.