|
Support/ NGO’s
|
|
|
Support/ Non Governmental Organizations |
|
|
International NGO’s are the ones that work on very large scale operations. They are not confined to working with specific countries (for the most part) and are more concerned with resettlement in safe countries and providing services, such as refugee camps, food, and policy control. Main services that they provide include: food,
shelter, medical care, policy work (some have official observer status at the
United Nations), resettlement help/logistics, and funding. They are based out
of many different countries and will do work both within their home country
and internationally. There are thousands of NGO’s worldwide, and many of
these listed below have offices in Many countries contribute funds to NGO’s
assist them with their work. In 2003, the International NGO’s:
International Rescue Committee; IRC Seattle office
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees US Alliance
supported by the UNHCR of International NGO’s
American Refugee Committee International
International Organization for Migration
Human Rights Watch International
UNITED for Intercultural Action
National NGO’s are responsible for working within a specific country only. They may (or may not) work with various international or regional organizations. They primarily provide policy support (research to enforce viewpoints), fight for refugee rights, funding, networking, and are excellent resources for specific areas. They help people obtain housing and direct them to various states. National
NGO’s:
Center for Migration Studies (New York)
Housing Research Foundation (Washington DC)
Immigration and Refugee Services of America (Washington DC)
National Low Income Housing Coalition The
Refugee Council The National Network for
Immigrant and Refugee Rights National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children Local
NGO’s are where most of the actual work gets done in terms of getting people
set with long term and sustainable solutions. They can typically provide more
care, but will be more specific in the types of people that they are
targeting with their services. They work directly with refugees attempting to
get them settled into their new environments and will frequently provide support groups to deal with continuing problems
and legal support if necessary. They also provide ESL/ literary services,
food, and temporary shelter. Evaluation of
local programs and their funding statuses in the last five years.
Intercommunity
Peace and Justice Center Religious
groups often fuel the work in certain areas through an infusion of resources,
and provide international, national, and local support. They do not have the
advantage of the government contracting services out to them because of
religious affiliation, but are instead supported by various church groups
instead. They provide many of the same services as the above mentioned
organizations, but will have a faith (and religious) component with their
services and some services are not available to people that are not members
of a particular congregation. Services that they provide can be more
extensive than other non-religious organizations because of funding from
their international faith based support groups (churches.) They also have no
restrictions from the government(s) in provision of services because of
funding.
World Relief Cal Uomoto,
Affiliate Director Mydung Nguyen, Last year, World Relief received 15.25% of all
refugees coming to the
Church World Service/ Immigration and Refugees
International
Catholic Migration Commission
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Episcopal Migration Ministries The government is responsible for attending to the needs of all refugees when they enter the country. In order to qualify for any government services, they must meet a certain list of eligibility requirements. There are five main areas that services are provided in: cash and medical assistance, social services, preventive health services, the voluntary agency matching grant program, and the targeted assistance grant program. Funds available for these programs are reevaluated annually and are decided first by Congress and then each individual state also sets their own budget. As Congress also approves the refugee ceilings/ caps for each year, the two are clearly interdependent. · “President Bush requested $462 million dollars for Fiscal Year 2004, which began on October first, and that request is now before the Congress. We are now operating on a “continuing resolution” during October, which allows us to spend a proportionate amount of money comparable to one-twelfth of last year’s budget based on the duration of the continuing resolution until the Congress approves our Fiscal Year 2004 appropriation.” (ORR REPORT 2003.) · Refugees are only granted governmental assistance for 4-8 months from their entry date. Upon entrance, they may be eligible for the following programs: 1. Refugee Assistance Program (cash and medical expenses for up to 8 months after entrance.) 2. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), 3. Supplemental Security Income (SSI), 4. Medicaid (including, emergency, pre-natal and children's health programs), 5. Federal Food Stamps 6. May also be eligible for state benefits like General Assistance-Unemployable, food assistance (if not eligible for the federal program) and health care programs for emergency costs. They may also be eligible for the Basic Health Plan and Hospital Charity Care. Each state is responsible for funding within their state and receives money from ORR to help offset costs. In FY 1998, ORR provided $189.0 million to reimburse States for their full costs for the Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) programs and associated State administrative costs. Due to insufficient funding, ORR no longer provides reimbursement for the State costs of the TANF, SSI, and Medicaid programs. ORR allocated $67.0 million in FY 1998 social service funds to States for their State-administered social service programs. An additional $22.1 million in prior year funds augmented these FY 1998 funds, for total social services obligations of $89.1 million. (ORR Report to Congress 1998.) ACF- ORR Report 1998; Amount allocated to each state in FY 1998 In order to qualify for ANY of these services, they must prove that they are very low income, meet other “standards,” and have few resources of their own. (Read: under $2000). Once any of these conditions fail to be met, benefits may be cut off partly or fully. o As a result of funds being tied
to Medicaid and Social Security, many refugees find their subsidies being
reduced (example: single woman in Many services that the government provides are contracted out to non-religious independent organizations. These organizations are given subsidies to cover the costs that they incur taking care of the refugees. Services that they provide unique from any other support services include lending for homes, creating eligibility for government housing programs (including Section 8 vouchers and housing projects), and large amounts of linkage with related social service programs. |
|
|
Last
Updated: |
Department of Housing and Urban Development
US Department of Health and Human Services-
Administration for Children and Families
Seattle Human Services
Department
Office of Refugee Resettlement What
are the current options that refugees have when they come to .
Please consult the websites of the NGO’s and government agencies listed above
for information on their specific programs, but many of them are limited in
scope and will only provide social services. Housing is not a major priority
as it should be made to be. In
order for refugees to be able to move into government housing, they must be
classified as low-income and fit all of the same qualifications that US
citizens already must prove. They receive no preferential treatment and may
experience additional difficulties obtaining housing because of the various
barriers that they inherently experience. In addition, because many refugees
may not have a social security number, they will have additional issue
obtaining government housing or eligibility to participate in voucher
programs. For a
refugee to live in independent housing that is sponsored by an NGO they must
only fulfill definitions and restrictions set in place by the organization
itself. Many are limited to providing long-term (defined for this as 3 months
or more) solutions because of funding issues. Government subsidies are not
intended to cover this sort of care within organizations that are eligible to
receive them in the first place (remember that they need to be
non-religious.) Contact the researcher at: klogan@u.washington.edu
|
|
|
|
![[logo: HUD seal]](supportngo_files/image048.jpg)
