A refugee resettlement organization that came to Akron in 2015 has announced it is closing at the end of April.
World Relief Akron director Kara Ulmer said the number of incoming refugees this year is 46, down from 200 last year, which led to a significant decrease in funding.
The Akron office was not able to raise enough money to remain open.
Ulmer said the decrease in refugees will have a lasting impact.
“For us in Akron, a community that’s declining, with a population that’s declining, and an industry that’s leaving, for us to be innovative, we need people who are coming that are like the refugee community,” she said.
World Relief works with local churches to resettle refugees.
The Akron office was the only branch it had in Ohio.
