Refugee Services of Texas, one of the main refugee resettlement agencies in the state, is facing a major budget shortfall forcing it to close two offices, cut staff and pause new refugee arrivals.
In a statement issued Wednesday morning, the agency describes the record number of refugees it resettled during the past 18 months and that it's now dealing with a “severe budget shortfall crisis." As a result, the agency said it's implementing what it describes as an emergency restructuring plan.
"We had a historic number of refugees resettled by our program throughout Texas and in the process we drew down our resources very rapidly to fill in the gap between what the government provides for services and then what we are required to raise privately for resettlement services," said Chris Kelley, spokesperson for Refugees Services of Texas. "We extended ourselves dramatically to try and resettle these record number of folks and then worked very hard to raise private funds, but we have not succeeded in doing as much fundraising as we need to do."
Kelley said the agency is asking for the public's help.
Under its restructuring plan, Refugee Services of Texas, or RST, is:
- Closing two of its offices located in Fort Worth and Houston.
Since late March, the agency has featured a notice on its website asking the public for financial support. The message says the agency received an unexpected number of refugees last year and that it’s “now facing a critical budget shortfall.”
In its statement, RST said it expects to “weather the storm” and be able to serve new clients in the future.
This story is developing.
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