To projects for immigrants from everywhere! The next time some bleeding heart refugee agency gives us the big sob story about how there isn’t money for proper refugee resettlement, we will harken back to this story from Ft. Wayne, IN. Virtually every news story tells us that, boo hoo, the agencies only get $900 to resettle a refugee but they never tell you about all the other money flowing out of Washington for every aspect of a refugee’s life (and to pay salaries for their caregivers).
As a matter of fact, people ask me all the time what it costs for the refugees and asylees the taxpayers care for, but this (below) is why there is no way of knowing the answer to that question. This is just for one city!
I had meant to sort from the list the programs specific to refugees and other immigrants, but when I looked at it, almost every one of these block grants applies to immigrants!
Nineteen Fort Wayne agencies have received a total of $235,000 in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) for public services, given to the City of Fort Wayne by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
This year Fort Wayne will receive a total of $2.13 million in all categories of CDBG funding. The city expected a 10 percent to 15 percent reduction in CDBG funding, but Mayor Tom Henry said Tuesday that this year’s overall amount equals last year’s, and it is the first time since 2003 that funding has not dropped from the previous year. [Yippee!]
Public service grant recipients, amounts and programs funded include:
♦African Immigrants Social and Economic Development Agency – $10,000 for job coaching initiative
♦Associated Churches of Fort Wayne – $14,000 for food bank’s 26 member sites.
♦Blue Jacket Inc. – $10,000 for Career Academy for ex-felons transitional and/or permanent employment skills training.
♦Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend – $10,000 for case management and resettlement services to recently resettled refugees.
♦City of Fort Wayne – $17,000 for large trash containers and for hauling away abandoned tires and debris for neighborhood cleanup programs.
♦East Allen County Schools – $10,000 for Neighborhood Action Center at Autumn Woods apartments.
♦Fort Wayne Medical Society Foundation – $10,000 for Fort Wayne Medical Education Program; and $10,000 for healthier Moms and Babies program serving high-risk, low-income pregnant women.
♦Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Dept. – $7,500 for Jennings Work Study Program providing job skills training for youths.
♦Fort Wayne Urban League – $7,000 for pre-employment skill training for adults to attain economic self-sufficiency; and $7,000 for pre-apprenticeship program for adults seeking construction trades employment.
♦Genesis Outreach – $8,000 for workforce development training center for homeless clients with paid training similar to internships.
♦Mental Health America in Allen County – $9,000 for client advocacy services to access options for care and treatment.
♦Burmese Advocacy Center – $8,000 for employment skills training program for refugees and immigrants.
♦Neighborhood health Clinics – $14,000 for medical and dental services for Burmese refugees living in Fort Wayne.
♦Super Shot Inc. – $9,000 for maintaining 26 free monthly immunization clinics for Allen County children.
♦The Reclamation Project – $10,000 – for English as a New Language (ENL) instruction for refugees.
♦Turnstone Center for Children and Adults with Disabilities – $9,000 for residential ramp building program for low-income residents needing wheelchair-accessible ramps at their homes.
♦United Hispanic Americans Inc. – $9,000 for bilingual employment support services, including computer literacy for job searching and application.
♦United Way of Allen County – $10,000 for the Ready to Learn program in schools serving educational-needy children; and $5,000 for Earned Income Tax Credit education program to low- and moderate-income workers.
♦Wellspring Interfaith Social Services Inc. – $14,000 for the agency’s food bank and personal hygiene needs assistance programs; $9,000 for the summer day camp program for low-income children; and $8,000 for the Wellspring older adult program providing nutrition and social/cognitive activities.
Ft. Wayne is a “welcoming” city and we have written about its refugee population on many occasions, so please just use our search function for related stories.