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Jul 13, 2023 · Refugee Services. Helping people displaced from their countries to find a new home and a new life. Individuals and families may be displaced by war, political, religious, or economic turmoil, and other factors beyond their control.
You have the power to create better opportunities for New Americans in your community. Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS) is an independent non-profit organization that serves the refugee and immigrant populations in Central Ohio.
Our goal is to help create a world of possibilities for displaced people—where displacement may have defined their past but their future is reimagined with unlimited possibilities. We believe in open doors for refugees, asylees and other immigrants.
- Bhutanese Nepalis
- Somalis
- Congolese
- Iraqis
- Afghans
- People of Myanmar
Families from Bhutan in South Asia account for the largest number of new refugee arrivals in Ohio in the past decade –– 8,140 in total. Most of them are a part of the Nepali-speaking minority who had lived in Bhutan for decades until they became victims of ethnic cleansing by the ruling majority. In the 1990s, civil unrest in the country prompted t...
Somalia’s ongoing civil war that started in 1991 has led to widespread poverty, hunger, political instability, civil unrest as well as the displacement of hundreds of thousands of residents. Despite the international community’s resettlement efforts, more than 750,000 Somali refugees remain in neighboring countries, and 2.6 million are internally d...
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is marked by a long-standing humanitarian crisis. Fighting among local tribes ensued even after the country’s civil war ended in 2003. Civilians continue to struggle for survival. In the U.S., Congolese refugees are largely concentrated in Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. But Ohio also has a cons...
The Iraqi refugee crisis took place as a result of decades of wars and continuous fighting among local militant groups. Conflicts escalated in 2014 when the Islamic State attacked northern Iraq. Since then, more than three million Iraqis were displaced, a United Nations reportshows. Residents, including millions of children, are in dire need of ass...
Residents in Afghanistan have had to endure more than 40 years of conflicts, natural disasters and poverty. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated their challenge. More thansix million Afghanshave had to flee their homes. More than 925 Afghan refugees were resettled in Ohio from the fiscal years 2011 to 2020. Following the recent U.S. military w...
Myanmar, formerly called Burma, is a country in Southeast Asia that suffered devastating natural disasters, military dictatorship and ethnic conflicts. The Rohingya people –– a stateless Muslim minority residing on the western coast of the country –– in particular, face long-time discrimination and persecution by the government. From 2000 to 2019, ...
Refugees are resettled to Ohio as part of a national and international effort to help individuals displaced from their countries to find a new home and a new life. Individuals and families may be displaced by war; political, religious, or economic turmoil; and other factors beyond their control.
Ohio has welcomed refugees from many different countries around the world. They came from places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, Eritrea, Afghanistan, and Burma. Most refugees in Ohio decided to live in five specific counties: Cuyahoga (Cleveland), Franklin (Columbus), Hamilton (Cincinnati), Montgomery (Dayton), and Summit (Akron).
CRIS is an independent non-profit organization that serves the refugee and immigrant populations in Central Ohio. Among other things, CRIS is a refugee resettlement agency.
