‘It's a crisis' Erie County refugees in crisis due to federal funding freeze
Response to a federal funding freeze that they say is impacting Erie County communities and agencies.
What's being called a rapid response team was established to develop strategies to combat the lack of funding which is expected to rock the refugee community to its core.
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Members of this team said the federal funding freezes have forced a budget crisis at the local level, potentially impacting Erie's workforce and local economy.
Infinite Erie is spearheading an initiative to construct a team to brainstorm action in response to the federal funding freeze.
Some members of the team include the likes of the Erie Community Foundation, the United Way, Erie Insurance, and ECGRA just to name a few. And they said Erie's refugee community is in dire straights.
'It's a crisis. It's right here, right now,' said Kim Thomas, executive director of Infinite Erie. 'Our entire economy and community relies on this population.'
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Since October of 2024, Erie's resettlement agencies have had no federal funding reimbursements. That's led to more than 20 layoffs in the department with more on the way.
It's impacted thousands of refugees who have been legally resettled here by the government to escape crisis, war, and persecution.
Without these services, Thomas said immigrants are more likely to leave Erie, resulting in a loss of $253 million to the local economy annually.
'About 47% of them own a home in our community so they're paying mortgages and they're providing that economic stimulus into our community. They are part of our workforce. There have been about 500 jobs over the past however many years that have really resulted from refugees entering into the workforce. They're an incredible participant in our entrepreneurial and business communities,' Thomas explained.
That's why the Erie Community Foundation is opening an emergency fund. They created rapid response funds both when covid-19 broke out as well as during the war in Ukraine.
She said this funding freeze has risen to the level of a humanitarian crisis locally.
'We connect donors to causes that they care about and so our role is to inspire, engage and empower donors. That's what this is doing, the rapid response fund. By creating this fund to support nonprofits, they're helping refugees resettle, we're making our community stronger, more culturally rich, and then that results in new stores and restaurants,' said Erin Fessler, vice president of marketing and community relations for the Erie Community Foundation.
Despite being just 4.1% of Erie County's population, refugees own 5% of businesses in Erie County and this fund should act as a lifeline to resettlement agencies hoping to continue welcoming refugees into our region.
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'There's a much larger conversation that certainly needs to happen around long-term solutions for specifically the refugee resettlement agencies and this population but we recognized right away that this is a crisis right here and right now. The federal funding has been shut off,' Thomas went on to say.
To learn more about the Rapid Response Fund
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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