Church World Service (CWS) today announced that the organization will be closing its local office as of May 31st. This news comes following sweeping actions taken by the Trump Administration terminating or suspending programs operated by CWS to support refugees and immigrants.
“For three years, the Charlotte community has come alongside CWS to welcome unaccompanied children and their families,” said Beth Caldwell, CWS Regional Director for the Mid Atlantic. “We are incredibly grateful for that support and heartbroken over changes that have led to the need to close down our Charlotte office. While our local presence is changing, CWS has a long history in North Carolina, and we are committed to continuing to support our refugee and immigrant neighbors in the months and years to come.”
The office closure decision comes as CWS has been forced to take steps across the organization to reduce costs to be able to continue to serve its most vulnerable clients, including by significantly reducing staff capacity and carefully evaluating the ability to continue to deliver programs at scale.
Since April 2022, CWS Charlotte has supported unaccompanied children as they joined their families and the local community in Charlotte. The team has been dedicated to creating a welcoming North Carolina where immigrant children enjoy the resources, freedoms, and opportunities to thrive.
CWS will continue to serve some clients in the Charlotte area with remote services and with traveling staff for open cases of unaccompanied kids through the home study and post release services program.
