wfn.org | CWS welcomes increased per person grant for newly arriving refugees

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> Church World Service
> 475 Riverside Drive
> New York, NY 10115
> (212) 870-2676

> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> Church World Service
> 475 Riverside Drive
> New York, NY 10115
> (212) 870-2676

CWS welcomes increased per person grant for newly arriving refugees

January 25, 2010, New York City - Church World Service refugee program
staff and their colleagues in local resettlement agencies across the
United States hailed the U.S. government's announcement Friday (Jan.
22) that it has doubled the amount of the per person grant to assist
refugees resettling in the United States to $1,800.

The funds help new arrivals pay for such expenses as  security
deposits/initial rent payments, household furnishings, initial pocket
money and other basic necessities, along with local case management to
ensure that each refugee gets a fair start in his or her new country.

â"Welcome news!" declared CWS Immigration and Refugee Program
Director Erol Kekic upon receiving the announcement last Friday from
Eric Schwartz, Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and
Migration in the U.S. State Department.

Church World Service is one of 10 national voluntary agencies plus one
state agency entrusted by the U.S. State Department to provide services
to help newly arriving refugees move quickly toward becoming
self-supporting members of their new communities.

In FY 2009, CWS and its affiliate network resettled 6,428 of total U.S.
arrivals of 74,652; CWS expects to receive more than 7,000 refugees in
FY 2010,.

"CWS sincerely thanks Assistant Secretary Schwartz and his colleagues
at the Admissions Office and the U.S. Congress, for their tireless work
to make possible this increase in the public contribution to the U.S.
refugee program's public-private partnership," Kekic said.

In a conference call with colleagues from CWS's community-based
refugee resettlement affiliates in 21 states shortly after receiving the
news, Kekic's report on the state department move was greeted with
applause and exclamations of "Wow!"

Today,  Aaron Tate, Director of Refugee Services for Interfaith
Ministries for Greater Houston, a CWS affiliate, said. "This increase
will certainly improve the lives of all refugees.  It really takes our
ability to provide quality service to a new level.  This more than
doubling of assistance to clients radically improves the program.  On
our refugee clients' behalf, and on behalf of the affiliates, I'd
like to say thanks to those who worked for this positive change."

Said Kekic,  "This good news clearly has boosted the morale of our
hard-working local colleagues, who are on the front lines of welcoming
newly arriving refugees.  I expect that this increase in U.S. government
support also will motivate the many congregational co-sponsors and other
volunteers, donors, employers and other community members to redouble
their support for refugees."

The increase takes effect immediately for all new refugee arrivals, and
is retroactive for refugees who arrived from January 1, 2010 to now.

Media Contacts

Lesley Crosson, (212) 870-2676, media@churchworldservice.org
Jan Dragin - 24/7 - (781) 925-1526, jdragin@gis.net