Refugee Resettlement Services

The Refugee Resettlement Program has resettled refugees in the Indianapolis area since 1975. We have more than 30 years of commitment to promoting human dignity by assisting refugees transition to a new community. Our compassionate services empower refugees to achieve self-sufficiency.

Reception and Placement (R&P)
Reception and placement services assist refugees during their first 30 days in the country. Services include: airport pickup and transportation, safe and sanitary housing, including essential furnishings, food, clothing, assistance applying for social security card, work authorization, health screenings and other necessary appointments.

Match Grant
Once in the R&P program, refugees can apply for the match grant. If eligible, they are provided with extended resettlement services for 90 to 120 days. Participants are assisted with employment, financial literacy and other services to help them become self sufficient in Indianapolis.

Job Placement and Social Services
Employment services include job development, counseling and referrals. Refugees are counseled on proper employment behavior and the skills necessary to keep their jobs.

Donation Needs

Seting up homes for refugee arrivals takes many supplies. Please donate new and gently used items for these families. View and print the list. To donate, contact Mike McCarthy at 236-1514. We may be able to pick up your large items.

More information:

Pope: refugees must be welcomed despite problems
Read more from the Vatican

World Refugee Day

The 2nd Annual World Refugee Day Dinner will be on Wednesday, June 20, 2012. Festivities will take place at Cathedral High School at 6:00 PM. The event will feature ethnic food, cultural dances, a screening of the movie “Crossing Salween” (highlighted at the 2011 Heartland Film Festival), a life-size model of a Karen refugee camp hut and a silent auction. Tickets are $35.00. CLICK HERE to REGISTER.

Every year on June 20th, communities all over the world join the United Nations in observing World Refugee Day. This day celebrates the experiences, triumphs and successes of refugees from across the globe. In solidarity with the United Nations and the 10 million refugees in the world, Catholic Charities Indianapolis’ Refugee and Immigrant Services hosts the World Refugee Day Dinner. Hundreds of refugees are brought to Indianapolis, IN every year because they cannot return to their home country and do not enjoy basic rights in the country where they sought refuge. Catholic Charities Indianapolis helps these refugees integrate quickly into our community by providing them with the tools of self-reliance: housing, job placement and employment skills, clothing, medical attention education, English-language classes and community orientation.

Refugee Resettlement Staff

In the News

New Program Offers Legal Services to Immigrants and Refugees

Gabrielle Campo has often been inspired—and sometimes frustrated—in her work for the archdiocese to help immigrants and refugees live their dreams of a better life in the United States.

Her inspiration comes in the memory of her late grandfather, who arrived in the United States on July 4, 1921, at the age of 8—an Italian immigrant who grew up to serve in the U.S. Navy, marry, work as a factory foreman and head a family of nine children and 34 grandchildren.

Her frustration has sometimes come as she has tried to do everything possible for the immigrants and refugees who seek help from the archdiocese's Refugee Resettlement Program—frustrations that arose from people seeking legal services and the program not having the capabilities to assist with legal issues. READ MORE >>

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