Donor-funded programme fills gaps for 171 refugees after US resettlement funding cuts

What is the background?

Refugee resettlement agencies in the United States rely heavily on federal funding to cover the first months after a family arrives. Refugee resettlement funding cuts in 2025 left agencies like Global Refuge searching for other ways to keep helping families already in the pipeline when federal support froze.

What happened?

Global Refuge launched the Post-Arrival Stability and Empowerment (PASE) programme in April 2025, funded entirely by private donors rather than federal money. By the end of 2025, PASE had served 171 people through the organisation’s Baltimore Welcome Center.

The programme was created specifically to fill gaps left by stop-work orders and funding freezes that interrupted standard resettlement support.

How did it happen?

PASE provides four core services: employment support, help connecting to healthcare and benefits, school enrollment assistance for children, and emergency rent assistance for families at risk of losing housing.

In one documented case, a Syrian family of six received rent assistance and employment services through the programme. Two family members secured full-time employment within one month, and the family was able to move to improved housing shortly afterward.

Why does it matter?

When federal funding freezes hit mid-resettlement, families already in the country can be left without support at the most vulnerable point in their transition — before they have jobs, healthcare access, or stable housing. A donor-funded bridge programme like PASE keeps that support running without waiting for federal funding disputes to resolve.

The Syrian family’s outcome — stable employment and improved housing within about a month — shows the kind of fast, practical result the programme is designed to produce rather than a slower, multi-year integration process.

What were the key results?

• 171 people served by the PASE programme in 2025
• Programme launched in April 2025 at Global Refuge’s Baltimore Welcome Center
• Funded entirely through private donor contributions, not federal money
• Four core services: employment support, healthcare connection, school enrollment, emergency rent assistance
• One documented family of six secured full-time employment within one month of support
• That family moved to improved housing shortly after receiving rent assistance
• Programme created specifically to offset federal stop-work orders and funding freezes

What happens next?

Global Refuge said it will continue seeking donor funding to keep PASE running as federal resettlement funding remains uncertain.

The organisation plans to track longer-term outcomes for the families it has supported through the programme.

Other resettlement agencies are watching donor-funded bridge models like PASE as a possible template if federal funding remains constrained.

Global Refuge said it will publish updated 2026 figures once a full year of PASE data is available.