DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa refugee programs plan to continue providing services and aid to refugees despite federal program shutdowns, looking for new ways to continue programs.

Lutheran Services in Iowa provides refugees who arrive in Iowa assistance to help them acclimate, and without federal funding, their program will face challenges. LSI says it takes months to fully prepare and transition families, and it’s for tasks we don’t think twice about.

“We have a lot of things that we do over the course of their first 90 days to help them get oriented, such as getting kids in school and getting to health appointments and things like that,” said Nick Wuertz, LSI Refugee Services Director. “So very discouraged, you know, trying to figure out how to, how to proceed.”

President Trump signed an executive order that suspended refugee programs, stopping refugees from entering the country and halting funding for aid programs.

“Even more concerning is the stop work order that we received late on Friday, which essentially said that, you know, after Friday, resettlement agencies such as LSI could no longer be reimbursed for expenses and should stop work on providing resettlement services,” said Wuertz.

Wuertz says LSI brings in funds through donations and fundraising but depends on federal funding for a majority of their programs.

“We no longer have access to the federal funding that, you know, is the vast majority of what helps us pay initial living expenses until families get employed and start paying their own way, which is usually within a few short months,” said Wuertz.

128 refugees arrived in Iowa over the past month and since funding has stopped, LSI will have to find other ways to help these new arrivals.

“We’re doing our best to reassure families, you know, and again, communicate to them that we are going to continue to provide services to them,” said Wuertz. “We just may not be able to provide as much financial support as we previously were.”

Des Moines Refugee Support also plans to continue providing their services despite the suspension.

“Our model is that we will do what is needed and because we have such a great volunteer base and we have such a great base of donors, we are able to do that,” said Allison Hoeman, DSM Refugee Support Executive Director.

A local non-profit, DSM Refugee Support doesn’t receive any federal funding, but worries that if organizations that did receive the funding can’t keep up, they’ll have to close the gap.

“If the resettlement organizations aren’t able to go and do all of the things that they are supposed to be doing with their federal dollars, then yeah, there’s community organizations like us that that’s going to follow,” said Hoeman.

DSM Refugee Support raises thousands of dollars each year for programs such as children’s sports, women’s aid, and educational opportunities, and says as long as they are able to continue doing so, refugees will still have various resources to establish themselves.

“The issue is going to be whether or not they are getting all of the support that they need to be able to continue to, you know, get themselves set up and be ready to live in Iowa,” said Hoeman.

Despite an uncertain future, DSM Refugee Support is continuing operations to prepare for future programs and events such as their spring clothing drive and weeklong day camp.

Both Lutheran Service of Iowa and Des Moines Refugee Support released statements saying they will continue providing services and are working on improving community engagement to bring in more volunteers and funds through local support.