Refugee Services

Program Closure

For more than 40 years the Diocese of Jefferson City and Catholic Charities welcomed refugees fleeing war, violence, and persecution. Our team provided culturally competent support, including housing help, essential household items, food, orientation and needs assessments, school enrollment assistance, connections to community and government services, and comprehensive case management.

The Refugee Services program formally closed in March 2025 because of significant reductions in federal funding for refugee resettlement.

We are grateful for the volunteers, parish partners, and donors who made this work possible. We are proud of the families we helped and the richer, more diverse communities they helped build.

We continue to support refugees through other programs and services, including Family Immigration Services, parish partnerships, community outreach, and referrals to legal and social supports. We remain committed to helping newcomers find stability and a place to call home.

Journeying with refugees, secondary migrants, asylees, special immigrant visa holders, & immigrants as they rebuild their lives across mid-Missouri.

Refugees are individuals who have fled their countries of origin and who meet the United Nations criteria of having a “well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”

Refugees, having suffered great losses including their homes, livelihoods, possessions, and oftentimes families, need assistance starting over in a new country. Their initial and ongoing needs are many: food, clothing, shelter, employment, English language training, and orientation to a new community and culture. Catholic Charities offered a comprehensive array of services designed to meet the complex needs of our refugee clients.

Our agency provided a range of resettlement services in partnership with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Toggle the tabs below to learn more about the resettlement services we provided to clients across mid-Missouri:

Reception and Placement

Airport reception
Initial housing, financial, and transportation assistance
Enrollment in relevant public assistance
Employment services
English language training
K-12 school enrollment
Coordination of medical screening, primary care, and medical treatment (if needed)
Cultural orientation

Case Management

Employment Services

Health Services

Housing Placement

When a refugee arrival was scheduled for Catholic Charities to receive, our Housing Team works to identify and secure safe and sanitary housing for our new neighbors. For newcomers who had family awaiting them, their local resident family were very helpful in providing temporary housing and securing long-term housing for their family members.

Our goal was always for our clients to gain as much independence as quickly as possible — so we journeyed alongside newcomers to educate them about housing in the U.S. from making maintenance requests to paying rent, to understanding how utilities work, to navigating their new neighborhood.

Adult Vocational and Educational Support

Youth and Family Services