\u201cThe stress is very real,\u201d said Executive Director Jenna Baron as she works to fill the organization\u2019s funding gap. Yet she remains hopeful \u201cbecause of the way that people have shown up over time for ARYSE.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very rewarding to see a movement be built of people who understand why specializing in supporting youth is really so critical, and I have to have hope, and I do have hope that this is going to come through for us in the short term.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Long-term may prove to be a different story, though. Baron said there is \u201cso much uncertainty\u201d around what federal support for refugee-serving organizations will look like going forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From helped to helper<\/p>\n
Offered since 2013, PRYSE (Pittsburgh Refugee Youth Summer Enrichment) is part of ARYSE\u2019s year-round programming for young refugees and immigrants in Allegheny County. Baron said the academy\u2019s purpose is threefold: developing students\u2019 English literacy skills, developing their confidence and fostering a sense of belonging.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Around 700 students have gone through PRYSE Academy since its inception, and Baron is determined to continue growing that number.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the end of the program \u2026 we hear their voices in a much bigger way,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
PRYSE Academy evolved from a group of Pitt students \u2014 Baron among them \u2014 who began tutoring refugee students in 2013. ARYSE was established following the camp\u2019s success, and more programs later developed. Today, the summer camp remains the organization\u2019s largest program, and Baron said it\u2019s also often kids\u2019 first interaction with ARYSE.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Students in grades 6-12 are typically referred to the organization by school districts or local resettlement agencies like Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS).\u00a0<\/p>\n
The latter is how 18-year-old Nateso came in contact with the organization.<\/p>\n
(Public Source is identifying refugees by first name only due to privacy and safety concerns.)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.publicsource.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CT_ARYSEFunding_Franklin_2.jpg\")
Nateso, a camp counselor for PRYSE Academy, participates in a group exercise on June 25, at the University of Pittsburgh\u2019s Posvar Hall in Oakland. (Photo by Claira Tokarz\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n
Nateso, who is Congolese, moved to the U.S. from Burundi a month before the COVID-19 shutdown. The social isolation, in addition to not knowing much English, made for a difficult adjustment, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe meeting with ARYSE, it kind of gave me the comfort that there was somebody out there who cared about my well-being,\u201d he said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n
What other counselors had to say about ARYSE<\/p>\n
Esther<\/p>\n
Esther, 16, is from the Democratic Republic of Congo and has been involved with ARYSE since she moved to the U.S. in 2022. When she attended camp for the first time, she thought to herself, \u201cWhy is this going so fast? I just want to stay there all day.\u201d The youngest of nine, Esther likes being a leader and says she\u2019s good at giving advice, which is why she\u2019s excited to be a junior counselor this summer. She says the experience at PRYSE Academy is so enjoyable because, \u201ceven though people are coming from different cultures, at this summer camp \u2026 they\u2019re all loving each other [and] choosing each other equally.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reol<\/p>\n
Reol, 20, is from the Central African Republic and moved to the U.S. in 2023. He credits ARYSE with helping him improve his English and lessen his fear of expressing himself. He found it helpful to be in the company of people in the same position, and who wouldn\u2019t judge him if he made a mistake while speaking. He said he hopes to \u201clead by example\u201d this summer, showing that a language barrier is \u201cnot a problem.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can be able to do anything you desire by speaking multiple languages,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s getting ready to attend Pitt in the fall and study cybersecurity, but his real career goal? Continuing to work at the nonprofit.<\/p>\n
Fahima<\/p>\n
Fahima, 19, is from Afghanistan and moved to the U.S. in 2022. She says many of her friendships originated from her time with ARYSE. Like others Public Source spoke to, she experienced a surge in confidence after attending the organization\u2019s English language development lessons and activities that facilitated strong bonds between participants. She\u2019ll be working as a junior counselor this summer, explaining that she was largely motivated to return because she likes teaching, but also joked with the reporter about her other reasons: \u201cWell, we all know one of them is money.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nateso has gone from participant to counselor at PRYSE Academy. He said this summer will let him see a \u201cmirror image\u201d of his younger self, reinforcing his growth over the last six years. He suspects this will be his last time at the camp before he enrolls in college.<\/p>\n
Working as a counselor will also allow him to make good on a promise: \u201cOne thing I always tell myself is: \u2018When I came here, I got the help I needed, and in the future, I\u2019m going to be the one helping others.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
When Baron informed him and the other counselors about program funding cuts, reactions were a mix of shock and concern. Nateso said knowing there\u2019s even a slight chance that a person who needs help may not receive it feels horrible.<\/p>\n
He asked himself, \u201cWhy would somebody do that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Funding slashed, admissions paused\u00a0<\/p>\n
The funding cuts affecting ARYSE come amid a broader effort by the Trump administration to restrict refugee entry and scale back support for refugee-serving organizations. On the day he was inaugurated, Trump issued an executive order pausing refugee admissions<\/a>, saying the country lacked \u201cthe ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees\u201d without compromising resources and safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n He then set a record-low<\/a> refugee admissions cap for fiscal year 2026, opening 7,500 slots, compared with 125,000 in 2024. Government agencies were told to prioritize white Afrikaners from South Africa, and in May, Trump added 10,000 more spots for Afrikaners.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAlmost all pathways to humanitarian entrance into the country have been shuttered,\u201d said Danilo Zak, director of policy at Church World Service, which is one of the federal government\u2019s resettlement agency partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n Zak said Congress has maintained some funding for essential and supplementary refugee services, but the grants ARYSE relied on could still be discontinued because they were not specifically named in appropriation bills.<\/p>\n The money exists to be handed out, he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a choice by the administration to stop these programs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which houses the Office of Refugee Resettlement, did not respond to a request for comment by Public Source.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would somebody do that?\u201d<\/p>\n Nateso<\/p>\n Baron, who recently met Zak during an advocacy day in Washington, D.C., said ARYSE\u2019s funding cuts are only one example of \u201chow refugee communities and the organizations who historically support them\u201d are being dismantled.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like [the work is] very intentionally being targeted and deprioritized,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Zak agrees and believes the discontinued grants should be viewed alongside other federal moves affecting refugees and immigrants.\u00a0<\/p>\n When discussing funding challenges, he said, \u201cit needs to come hand in hand with the decision to reduce<\/a> refugee cash and medical assistance, and the decision to strip refugees of eligibility for SNAP and Medicaid<\/a> and the decision to target these individuals for deportation<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Turning to other funders<\/p>\n Baron doesn\u2019t want anyone to worry about the cuts, least of all students and their families. She\u2019s adamant that both PRYSE Academy and the organization\u2019s After School Club, which also relies on federal funding, will continue.\u00a0<\/p>\n So far, her search for alternative funding hasn\u2019t brought answers. At the state level, Baron said no one has been able to confirm if there are other pots of funding to pull from.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.publicsource.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CT_ARYSEFunding_Franklin_3.jpg\"\/)
A group of camp counselors for the Pittsburgh Refugee Youth Summer Enrichment Academy play a game to get to know each other better and learn one another’s names on June 25, at the University of Pittsburgh\u2019s Posvar Hall in Oakland. (Photo by Claira Tokarz\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.publicsource.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CT_ARYSEFunding_Franklin_6.jpg\"\/)
Reol, a camp counselor for PRYSE Academy, participates in a group exercise on June 25, at Posvar Hall. (Photo by Claira Tokarz\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.publicsource.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CT_ARYSEFunding_Franklin_7.jpg\"\/)
Parag S. Gohel, the PRYSE Academy program manager, leads a group exercise for camp counselors on June 25, at Posvar Hall. (Photo by Claira Tokarz\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.publicsource.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CT_ARYSEFunding_Franklin_8.jpg\"\/)
Leah Dresse, a co-director for PRYSE Academy, participates in a group exercise on June 25, at Posvar Hall. (Photo by Claira Tokarz\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.publicsource.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/CT_ARYSEFunding_Franklin_1.jpg\"\/)
Two soon-to-be counselors for PRYSE Academy dance on a break between games and lectures on June 25, at Posvar Hall. (Photo by Claira Tokarz\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n