More than 4,000 Cuyahoga County refugees will lose their federal food assistance starting November 1.

According to an October 9 analysis by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services , the population affected includes foreign asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants in the country for humanitarian reasons, such as survivors of trafficking or domestic violence. The changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program were enacted in federal legislation signed into law over the summer.

Most county refugees live in poverty, said Patrick Kearns, executive director of Re:Source Cleveland, a nonprofit that serves the immigrant community.

“This is going to have an immediate and significant impact because they are literally starting their lives from zero in a new country," he said. "Ki

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