In October 2024, Sarah Justice joined our team as our first ever Basic Needs Program Manager. For our entire history, City of Refuge has been meeting basic needs through a variety of ways and we are so excited that Sarah has been able to come in and focus specifically on growing these efforts. Read directly
“I’m encouraged.” It’s probably not a phrase you’re hearing a lot, or seeing in Facebook comments, or reading on headlines. So let me tell you why it’s true for me. I’m encouraged by what the last 3 months have proven. That the work we’re doing can go on, despite significant disruptions in the typical pathways.
Our promise to keep you informed amidst the ever-changing landscape of the refugee resettlement world has me in your inbox more frequently this season. Thank you for reading, for caring, for investing. Thank you to the many of you who have given financially, submitted volunteer applications, and are sharing social media posts/newsletters and advocating for
It was a jarring question to hear, asked by one of our refugee friends to a community partner organization. We have to do better. We have to change the rhetoric. We have to change the culture. Unfortunately, it’s not the work that only a few can do… it requires all of us. It requires all
One of my favorite parts of working at City of Refuge is the incredible team we have. Each of them brings their unique personality, experience, and passion into the work we do every day. Every person is here for a different reason, motivated by their core values. I’d venture to say that it’s not “just
Love… It looks like a lot of things. Big things, little things. Noticed and unnoticed. It looks like patience and kindness. Sometimes, it looks like silence – after all, it’s better to say nothing than something when the words threatening to come out are laced with hate and malice. Sometimes love is easy. But, often, it
We have some updates for you. With the new executive order “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program“, certain funding streams were cut off to resettlement agencies nationwide during the 90 day review. This means that many new arrivals (some just here a few days), no longer have access to the federal funds that were
Six weeks ago I shared the story of how my connection to City of Refuge led to the miraculous occasion that I was able to help sponsor and welcome Mugisha, a Congolese refugee living with limited possibilities in Kenya. Since then I’ve heard from countless folks who were moved by the story asking me how
It was a crisp autumn day when I first stepped into Daniel Boone Regional Library as a 19-year-old, three days after arriving in America. The grandeur of the place overwhelmed me not just because of its towering bookshelves or the quiet hum of knowledge, but because it was the first library I had ever entered.
I’m not sure if you know this, but if you don’t… City of Refuge is a local non-profit that works with people from all over the world. People from all over the world that now live in mid-Missouri. 40 countries. At least 23 different languages. And it is beautiful. And while the future feels foggy
