Refugee-supporting agencies losing funding

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nonprofit agencies that support refugees in Charlotte are losing funding because fewer refugees are being admitted while the courts fight President Donald Trump's travel ban.

Groups, such as the Carolina Refugee Resettlement, are in limbo because they are waiting to see if Congress will fund refugee programs for the 2018 fiscal year, which starts in October.

If the money runs out, so will their help.

Eyewitness News reporter Mark Barber talked to a family of Syrian refugees . The parents question what will happen to their daughter, a girl with special needs.

"We used to live in a war zone, so we wanted to run because of the future for our daughter,” Amir Fustooq and Fadiyia Ab Fustooq said with the help of a translator.

The Fustooqs escaped with their daughter just before their home was destroyed.

Fifteen-year-old Riyan Fustooq has a bone infection that has disabled her from the waist down.

"Their big fear is for their daughter. If the organization shuts down, there will be no one can (to) pick her up for their doctor's appointments,” translator Halah Ziad Kheldoon said.

The Carolina Refugee Resettlement Agency has already cut some translators and case workers. It made the tough decision after its funding was slashed in half due to the reduced number of refugees seeking aid.

"The volume of people we were anticipating for this fiscal year has been cut in half," said Marsha Hirsh, executive director of Carolina Refugee Resettlement.

The government promises that refugees will receive medical support for one year after they enter the country.

The Fustooqs don't have a car, and they don’t speak English, so they don't know who will care for their daughter if funding dries up for their resettlement agency.

"They don't know how to solve this problem,” Kheldoon said. “If they don't have a case worker, their daughter could get worse, so they don't know what to do.”

The resettlement agency said it is trying to help families by finding other refugees who can volunteer to help translate and drive people to medical appointments.

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