An Omaha refugee resettlement agency is expanding to Lincoln to meet increased need

A refugee resettlement agency that previously focused on the Omaha area is expanding its reach.

The Immigrant Legal Center + Refugee Empowerment Center, one of three refugee resettlement agencies in the state, will begin helping refugees relocate in Nebraska’s capital city.

“Lincoln is just obviously so perfect for refugees, that we really felt that it would be the first place that we needed to look at to extend our refugee services,” said Director of Refugee Services Tanyaradzwa DeWolf.

With this expansion, the agency will resettle 50 refugees in Lincoln through September. The Immigrant Legal Center + Refugee Empowerment Center case manager for the city will work with about 10 individuals per month. That can mean anything from two families of five to 10 individual refugees per month.

The agency received approval for the expansion last October, but first needed to conduct research and go through the hiring process before officially opening its Lincoln location. According to DeWolf, the Lincoln case manager should be receiving her first cases this week.

Employment opportunities, rent availability, public school openings and measuring how welcoming of an environment the city could offer were determining factors in the decision to expand to Lincoln.

“When we then look at which refugees and immigrants to really be bringing into Lincoln, we can do so knowing that they're going to be accepted for who they are,” DeWolf said. “That they can be celebrated for their differences. And that they are coming into a place where that is not only just accepted, but celebrated.”

She added the effort comes as a result of Nebraska seeing an increase in refugees and humanitarian parolees—which she said can benefit the job market and the state economy.

“We do not resettle more refugees than are necessary or able to be sustained and self-sufficient in an area,” she clarified.

In Omaha, the Immigrant Legal Center + Refugee Empowerment Center used to serve an average of about 200 refugees per year. Now, its on track to resettle more than 1,000 people this year.

Its three-year plan for Lincoln consists of one case manager and one part-time driver.

“We are growing very cautiously,” DeWolf said. “We want to make sure that Lincoln is able to sustain the work that it needs to also be doing to make sure that they are self-sufficient and well-received.”

Starting in October, they plan to take on 100 clients in Lincoln as well as hiring a supervisor and move the driver from part-time to full-time. In the meantime, DeWolf said they have been warmly welcomed by the other resettlement agencies, Lutheran Family Services and Catholic Social Services.

A previous version of this story misspelled the name of Tanyaradzwa DeWolf.