State Budget Includes $2 Million For Mohawk Valley Refugee Center

Senator Joseph Griffo and Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi have secured $2 million in the new state budget for the Mohawk Valley Resource Center For Refugees and other upstate resettlement agencies.

Those agencies face potential cuts in funding if any federal restrictions on refugee resettlement take place.

The Refugee Center's concerns began earlier this year following federal efforts to temporarily suspend refugee resettlement in the United States.

Shelly Callahan, Executive Director of the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees said:  "This funding will allow MVRCR to provide refugees with the services they need to facilitate integration and achieve economic self-sufficiency, benefiting both refugees and their new communities.

Over 400 refugees resettled in Oneida County last year, which is almost twice the amount who resettled in New York City.