Content Warning: This story contains descriptions of a natural disaster, loss and pet separation, which may be distressing to some readers. When record rainfall hit Texas on July 4, 2025, more than 120 lives were lost and hundreds remained missing. Among the survivors was 74-year-old Mrs. White, who braved rising floodwaters and helped her neighbors reach safety before receiving critical …
Fort Dix should not be used as a Penitentiary for Immigrants
July 28, 2025
Fort Dix, New Jersey—Church World Service today expressed alarm and deep concern over news that thousands of immigrants are to be detained at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Under the purview of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Fort Dix will be a de facto penitentiary for immigrants in the region rounded up in ongoing raids. The Department of Homeland Security further announced …
Stories of Change
Top and Bottom: Olena visiting CWS local partner Positive Women Odesa
From Despair to Hope: Olena’s Journey Through War, Illness and Recovery
When the war in Ukraine upended Olena’s life—costing her a job, threatening her home and worsening her health—she found hope through the CWS-supported “Support for Women and Children During the War in Ukraine” project. With legal, medical and emotional support from our local partner, Positive Women Odesa, Olena regained stability and began building a brighter future.
A Life Turned Upside Down by War
Olena has always been a strong and independent woman. She had a beloved job, a cozy apartment and a circle of loyal friends. However, unforeseen circumstances related to the war in her home country of Ukraine led to the loss of her job, serious health issues and the threat of losing her home, which required urgent legal assistance.
Facing multiple challenges at once, Olena found herself unsure how to move forward. Then, one day while scrolling through social media, she learned about the CWS-supported “Support for Women and Children During the War in Ukraine” project, which provides psychosocial support and legal assistance, along with basic needs assistance like food, medications and other essential supplies for women in Odesa.
Filled with hope, Olena visited the office of Positive Women Odesa, our local partner in Ukraine, and joined the project. This led her to tackle the most urgent challenge: her housing issue.
Community, Care and a New Beginning
“I lost my job, I didn’t have enough money to pay for utilities, I was in complete despair, and it seemed like I was trapped in a vicious circle,” Olena shared. At the time, she was at risk of becoming unhoused, but with support from a lawyer, her living situation stabilized.
Olena had also been living with an illness for several years and, after informing her case manager that she was in need of medication, she was invited to an informational meeting with a doctor, where she could ask questions and get the necessary information about her condition. The information empowered her, leading her to overcome her fears and resume her treatment, now understanding the importance of taking her medication on time.
Along with other women participating in the project, Olena also received supermarket and pharmacy vouchers, which helped cover the costs of essential food and medications, reducing her monthly expenses and setting her up for a better financial future.
Today, Olena has made new friends and a community of supportive women who have lived through similar experiences, their stories an example of how support can restore a person’s ability to build a healthier, better future for themselves.
We are grateful for our valued partners, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Church of the Brethren, for their support of this work.
With support from CWS, the “Support for Women and Children During the War in Ukraine” project, implemented by our local partner in Ukraine, Positive Women Odesa, provides critical services for acutely vulnerable women and children in Odesa City, including psychosocial support and legal assistance, along with basic needs assistance like food, medications and other essential supplies. The project focuses on women, including those living with HIV, older women and women in the LGBTQ+ community. To learn more about our Ukraine response, click here.
Termination of Protections for Afghans and Cameroonians Living in the United States is a Moral, Strategic Failure
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Washington, D.C.— CWS today expressed grave concern over yesterday’s decision from a court of appeals that allowed the Trump administration to immediately terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Afghanistan and Cameroon. As a result of the decision, the Trump administration has now ended life-saving legal protections and work authorization for approximately 11,700 Afghans living in the U.S., the …
Our Partners at StARS: Supporting Refugees in Cairo
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Egypt is home to hundreds of thousands of refugees. Most have fled from unrest and conflicts in countries including Syria, Sudan, Eritrea, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen and Somalia, and many of these new arrivals are children who are alone, without their families. In Cairo, CWS partners with St. Andrew’s Refugee Services–known as StARS–to provide a range of support for refugees, …
Key Victory for Refugee Resettlement Means Holding Administration Accountable
July 15, 2025
Washington, D.C.—Church World Service today celebrated last night’s ruling in the Pacito v. Trump case establishing a review process to identify, on a case by case basis, refugees who should be resettled in the United States in spite of the White House’s near universal ban on refugees. The order also clarified that the June 4 travel ban should not apply …
Passage of Flagship Trump Administration Bill Strips Support for those facing Scarcity, Imperils New Neighbors, and Creates Boundaries to Accessing Health Care and Due Process
July 3, 2025
Washington, D.C.—Church World Service today decried the final passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The legislation will harm American communities, especially those who are already facing scarcity. CWS—which has fought for the alleviation of hunger, poverty, and displacement for over 75 years—sees this Act as a clear infringement on access to health care, food security, children’s rights, and …
Safe Spaces and Shared Stories: Honoring Pride and World Refugee Day in Japan
Igarashi Nozomi, CWS Japan Project Officer, shared about recent events hosted at the Community Cafe @ Okubo in celebration of World Refugee Day and Pride Month, where LGBTQ+ individuals and refugee community members could share stories, build understanding, and celebrate diversity through dialogue and collaborative art. CWS Japan operates the Community Cafe @ Okubo with ecumenical partners to aid the …
Take Action: Urge Your Members to Congress to Vote NO on Budget Bill that Targets Refugees and Slashes Human Needs Programs to Fund Mass Detention and Deportation
July 2, 2025
Congress is preparing to pass a budget reconciliation bill that would massively increase immigrant detention, deportation, and border militarization. To ramp up immigration enforcement, the bill (H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act) slashes essential human needs programs and deprives access to food and healthcare for immigrants and their U.S. citizen family members and children. President Trump and his …
Church World Service Decries Senate Passage of “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act”
July 1, 2025
Washington, D.C.—Church World Service decries the U.S. Senate passage of H.R. 1, the so-called “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.” Among its plethora of policy and budget impacts, the bill includes attacks on refugees and unaccompanied children, and a massive boost in funding for ICE raids, family detention, and deportations, while simultaneously cutting long standing social safety net support for the neediest …