Although it’s been 40 years, Van Truskett still remembers feeling overwhelmed the first time she arrived in the United States. At 6 years old, her life had changed drastically.

After the fall of Saigon in Vietnam, Truskett’s mother risked it all by fleeing the country and eventually bringing her daughters to the Texas capital. Truskett, now an accomplished technology leader at the University of Texas, was among an early wave of refugees resettled by the nonprofit Caritas of Austin.

Since 1974, the organization has helped thousands of people fleeing war or persecution find a new life in Austin. But after 44 years, Caritas is ending its refugee resettlement program and as of Monday, it will no longer serve new refugees.

"It’s really a tragedy that this program has to go away," said Jo Kathryn Quinn, executive director for Caritas. "It had to be done, but it’s very sad." Truskett echoed the sentiment, calling the closure "heartbreaking."

For the past two years, Caritas has seen a sharp decline in the number of refugees arriving in Austin, and the development has made the program "financially unsustainable," Quinn said. Between 2010 and 2016, Caritas resettled an average of 576 refugees each year. Since last October, Caritas has resettled 151 refugees, but the nonprofit has not received any new refugees since April.

"Having zero refugees arrive in two months was unheard of for us," Quinn said. "It was the final alarm bell that told us that we couldn’t continue this way."

In June, Caritas’ board of directors voted to close the program at the end of the fiscal year at the recommendation of the nonprofit’s executive leadership.

When fewer refugees arrive, less federal money comes in to support them as well. Refugees receive a one-time amount of $1,125 from federal funds for resettlement needs, including housing and food, said Adelita Winchester, Caritas’ director of integrated services. Caritas would supplement federal funds with about $1 million annually in philanthropic donations,Winchester said.

"We didn’t have any excess philanthropic dollars to shift to aid this program," Quinn said. "But it wasn’t only the lack of dollars, but the lack of people we could serve was shrinking and shrinking."

Since October 2017 when the Trump administration reduced the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. annually from 110,000 to 45,000, resettlement agencies across the country have had to adjust. Some agencies have scaled back their resettlement programs, shifted resources or shut the programs down. Last week, the Trump administration announced plans to further drop the already reduced refugee admissions goal from 45,000 to 30,000 — a historic low.

At the peak of Caritas’ refugee resettlement program a few years ago, about 27 full-time or part-time staffers were focused on case management, employment and education services for refugees, Winchester said. By Oct. 1, there will be five staffers focused on refugee work. And at the end of the year, Winchester said, those staffers will shift to serve Austin’s homeless population.

Caritas will continue to offer employment support to refugees through Dec. 31, Winchester said.

Since October 2017, Caritas has had three rounds of staff layoffs. "It’s been very challenging," Quinn said.

Keeping up staff morale has been among the challenges, Quinn said, but while employees are worried about their jobs, they also are worried about the care of their clients. "It’s a lot of mixed emotions," she said.

Caritas’ decision to shutter its resettlement program means that Refugee Services of Texas will now be Austin’s sole refugee resettlement agency.

To ensure its future, Refugee Services has begun to diversify its services, said Erica Schmidt-Portnoy, senior programs director for the organization. The nonprofit, while heavily focused on refugees, also serves survivors of human trafficking and helps families who have been reunited after being separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Refugee Services of Texas has resettled about 260 refugees in Austin so far this year, a drop from typical years when the nonprofit resettled between 500 and 600.

"When I look back, Caritas was instrumental in anchoring my family in Austin," said Truskett, who received her doctoral degree in chemical engineering and is now the director for technology innovation development at UT. "It provided stability in my daily life, and I could make plans for my future, not just juggling from week to week. It was nice to not have to run anymore."