Among the items approved in New York's new state budget is $6 million for refugee resettlement.
Buffalo Democratic Sen. Sean Ryan and Assemblymember Jon Rivera announced the funding comes through the New York State Enhanced Services to Refugees Program (NYSESRP), which began in 2017 and has already provided $10 million for essential services, such as housing, job training and child care, to "speed up refugees’ economic integration and progression to self-sustainability."
Ryan and Rivera said this year's $6 million the largest annual appropriation in the program's history.
"In Western New York, agencies such as Journey’s End Refugee Services, Jewish Family Services, Catholic Charities and the International Institute of Buffalo have served refugees fleeing danger in their home countries for decades," they said in a statement. "Their work was especially critical in the last year, as they resettled more than 500 Afghan refugees in the Western New York region alone. In addition, with New York having the largest Ukrainian-American population in the United States, the state is expected to see an influx of Ukrainian refugees in the wake of the Russian war on Ukraine."
They said more than 90% of refugees coming into New York settle in Upstate communities, including more than 16,000 refugees in Buffalo since 2002.
"Helping acclimate these new Americans into their new lives is an important task that not only helps them thrive, but also benefits our communities," Ryan said. "New York has always been a leader in refugee resettlement, and this unprecedented funding for our state’s resettlement agencies will help us remain one.”
"Western New York’s economic resiliency is due in no small part to its vibrant immigrant population and their demonstrated entrepreneurial resolve," said Rivera. "This record funding for refugee resettlement agencies through the New York State Enhanced Services to Refugees Program is not only a testament to the work of these agencies and the invaluable services they provide, but it will also place them in a position of strength as they prepare to cater to our state’s next generation of immigrant business owners and homeowners.”
