Center For Refugee Services
Announcements
Effective January 1, 2024, CRS moved its office to 8600 Wurzbach, Suite 802 San Antonio, TX 78240.
We are still in the heart of the Refugee Community, just across the street from our old facility. However, our space has practically doubled, allowing us to serve more clients individually as well as provide more ESL classes to accommodate our ever-growing client pool.
Greater, but necessary, space comes at a cost. CRS will need more community support than ever to pay for increased rent and utilities for our new office. Can you help by donating to support our work in the community?
The Starbucks Foundation $3000 Grant
SA Junior Forum Donation
The San Antonio Junior Forum awarded a grant for $5,100 to the Center for Refugee Services for the purchase of 85 Pack and Pads for refugee family newborns to help prevent SIDS.
Children's Art Donation
“Would you like to help the Center for Refugee Services? Purchase our Children’s Art donation cards to send to someone. Choose between our Holiday or special occasion cards. For $15, you will receive a card and envelope for you to mail to that special person.”
Go to our Donation page for more information and to fill out a request form.
Helping Afghan Families
Center for Refugee Services is actively engaged in helping new Afghan families that are coming to San Antonio from Afghanistan as well as refugees from other dangerous areas around the world. We are committed to providing our new neighbors with household items, hygiene supplies, and baby needs in addition to social services. If you are able to help us with this effort, please see make a donation today so that we can purchase the items that families need.
We regret we can no longer have ability to accept and transport furniture to our newcomers. The assigned resettlement agency provides housing and our previous program supplemented the cost of setting up the new home. Please contact the Resettlement Services of Texas, RAICES, and Catholic Charities of San Antonio resettlement agencies for their program. We are accepting new and gently used small household items as mentioned. Please see our ‘Donate’ page for instructions.
For updates on the latest news coming out of Afghanistan see US Department of State website.
Warning: As much as we would love to be in the situation to hire staff members to increase our service capabilities, we have not published any employment information. Please consider all emails offering employment to be scams. We sincerely regret this.
What Does the Center for Refugees Do?
The Center for Refugee Services (CRS) assists more than 4,500 clients a year. They are legally resettled refugees who have come from more than 20 countries torn by violence, war, and human rights abuses to make their home in San Antonio. Since Fall 2021 CRS has registered more than 4,200 Afghans fleeing the Taliban.
Since 2010, more than 15,000 individuals have resettled in San Antonio as permanent residents. They legally work, pay taxes, and contribute to the vitality of San Antonio. Their children attend school and will become our future doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc. After five years, most apply for U.S. citizenship.
CRS is the only independent nonprofit agency that works exclusively to promote the successful community integration of legally resettled refugees.
Can you help by donating to support our work in the community?
What We Provide
Our Services
Our center helps legally resettled refugees to acclimate to their new lives by providing language classes, job placement assistance, and cultural orientation programs.
Education
We offer multiple levels of ESL, from pre literacy to intermediate, with some women’s only classes. We also provide citizenship classes to help clients prepare for the citizenship exam.
Health & Wellness
We help clients with health insurance enrollment, SNAP, medical appointments and referrals, emergency food, pregnancy and baby assistance, and related wellness support.
Employment
As legal refugees , our clients are legally authorized to work. We help them create resumes, find jobs, apply online and make job referrals.
Classes
We provide classes for ESL, SIDS prevention, and Citizenship.
Community Support
During the year we have events to collect and distribute items to help improve our clients’ lives.
Located in the heart of the refugee community:
CRS is within walking distance from more than 8 apartment complexes where refugee families are usually settled upon arrival.
CRS’s staff is made up of 5 funded and 4 volunteer core staff members, with some 20+ auxiliary regularly scheduled volunteers. Several funded staff members were part of the Afghan diaspora following the Taliban takeover.
Current in-house staff speak Pashto, Dari, Urdu and Spanish, which provide a seamless continuum of client care.
REFUGEES RESETTLED IN THE UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTE POSITIVELY TO THE DIVERSITY AND ENRICHMENT OF OUR COUNTRY.
Guidestar Gold Status – Grants
We would like to thank the following organizations for their generous grants:
Elledge Family Foundation
2024 Grant
First Unitarian Universalist Church
CREF Fund 2023-2024
HEB
2024 Grant
The Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation
2023-2024 Grant
Red McCombs
2023 Grant
St. Luke's Lutheran Health Ministries
2023-2024 Grant
San Antonio Area Foundation - Access to Care
2023-2024 Grant
San Antonio Area Foundation - Capacity Building
2023-2024 Grant
Frost Bank
2024 Grant
San Antonio Junior Forum
2024 Grant
Our Support
Our Partners
Thanks to all of the below partners for supporting us through the years. If you would like to be one of our partners, contact us.
Why is the Center for Refugee Services Important?
Countries of Origin Include:
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Eritrea
- Sudan
- Iraq
- Iran
- Afghanistan
- Central African Republic, etc.
The legally resettled refugees that we help have fled their home countries due to conflict or persecution and have gone through a rigorous vetting process before being granted legal resettlement in the United States.
We work with community members and organizations to ensure that these refugees are welcomed and integrated into the fabric of our society.
It is not an easy task, but we are committed to helping these individuals rebuild their lives and create new beginnings in their adopted home.
Clients Helped
Per Week
Center
Visits Per Year
Diaper Packs Given
To Families Per Month
