ARIZONA NEWS
Maricopa County approves nearly $5M to support refugee services
May 9, 2023, 4:25 AM
(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
PHOENIX — Maricopa County approved nearly $5 million last week to support nonprofits serving refugees in the Valley in an effort to help them achieve independence, officials announced.
The $4.89 million in federal funding was approved by the Maricopa Board of Supervisors to go to six organizations, the county said in a press release.
“People arrive in our community from all over the world and when you have never been here, it can be disorienting and scary,” Supervisor Steve Gallardo said in the release.
“Maricopa County is fortunate to have many nonprofits that help refugees from other countries find housing, medical care and cross-language barriers so they can integrate and become an asset.”
The largest allocation of $1.9 million will go to Chicanos Por La Causa to provide a variety of services — including intake, transitional housing, legal services and stabilization support — for 40 families of newly arrived refugees.
The International Rescue Committee received $1.6 million for two projects. One project will assist 100 refugees who are victims of crimes through trauma-informed, holistic case management services and also train 100 community providers in culturally appropriate techniques, while about $950,000 will go toward increasing access to legal services through assessments and consultations for legal relief.
Lutheran Social Services was allotted $600,000 to give specialized case management and medical services for the most vulnerable refugees, including large families, single parents and women.
Friendly House received about $350,000 to expand adult education and immigration services to 150 refugees.
Another $300,000 is going to Somali American United Council of Arizona to foster connections to the community through women’s empowerment, job placement services and classes in nutrition, health, cultural adaptation and digital literacy.
Finally, about $128,000 is going to the Area Agency of Aging to aid 100 elder refugees with citizen application fees, citizenship and pre-literacy classes.
