refugee:
A person who flees his or her homeland because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of race, religion, political belief, ethnicity, or belonging to a certain social group.
| our programs
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| Resettlement and Resource Navigation
The newly-arrived refugees we serve, who represent a wide range of cultures and languages, are under tremendous pressure to adapt quickly to American life and culture. Within a few short months, they are expected to speak English, find sustainable employment, enroll their children in school, and understand the complexities of the American health care system, government programs, the school system, and social services. With decades of experience, our case management team members, many of whom are former refugees themselves, know how to help refugee families overcome barriers to success.
In 2023, we welcomed a record 615 refugees from 19 countries through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, provided welcoming services to another 855 humanitarian entrants from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Haiti, and Cuba, and served over 10,000 refugees and immigrants already living in communities across metro Atlanta.
contact the Resettlement and Resource Program
Please fill out the form below.
| Education and youth
Our Bright Futures After School program provides afterschool and summer school programming to students in DeKalb County, Georgia, as well as school liaison support for parents and families of school age children. By engaging with students and their parents, we can ensure students are able to succeed and the whole family is supported.
refer a student
To refer a student, please fill out the form below:
| Economic Inclusion + Workforce Development
This program focuses on empowering refugees for successful integration. It provides job placement assistance, job skill training, work-based ESL, asset building and financial literacy education to address unique employment challenges faced by refugees, such as language barriers and foreign qualification recognition. The department collaborates with local businesses to create suitable job opportunities, fostering economic independence and contributing to the overall success of refugee resettlement efforts. Through targeted initiatives, the department aims to empower refugees to rebuild their lives and become valuable contributors to their new communities.
career pathways and vocational counseling
Many refugees and immigrants bring a wealth of education and job skills and want to pursue careers that utilize their skills and provide a sustainable financial future for their families. The Economic Inclusion + Workforce Development program supports long-term self-sufficiency by providing a pathway to education, sustainable employment, and financial literacy. Many refugees need targeted support services to move beyond self-sufficiency into meaningful careers. Also, in recent years, we have seen an increase in arrivals who hold advanced degrees in their home countries and want to immediately pursue higher level employment in the United States.
The Economic Inclusion + Workforce Development program gives these individuals targeted services to place them on their pathway to Success. Program components include financial literacy, career counseling, educational planning, vocational ESL, career training workshops, and mentorship. Interested refugees and immigrants can take advantage of our drop in services on a weekly basis, or can sign up for the Forward Cohort, a 12 week intensive program designed to help clients develop their career goals and an action plan to achieve those goals.
contact the Economic Inclusion + Workforce Development Program
Please fill out the form below.
| FAMILY EMPOWERMENT
The concept of “family empowerment” varies in meaning in different parts of the world. Our experience demonstrates that refugee parents want to lay a secure foundation for their children’s success, but that they sometimes need additional support, skills, education, and encouragement to do so. Our programs ensure that refugee women, men, and their children are safe, stable, self-sufficient and ready to learn.
Parents as Teachers
Through Parents as Teachers (PAT), a nationally accredited, evidence-based curriculum, we help parents of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers understand child development, promote literacy, access early learning programs, and become effective teachers and advocates. PAT’s mission is to provide the information, support, and encouragement that parents need to help their children develop optimally during the crucial early years of their lives. One of PAT’s core principles is based on the notion that parents are their children’s first and most influential teachers. PAT educators support refugee parents in being the best teachers they can be.
Family Violence Prevention
Through our Family Violence Prevention program, we deliver culturally relevant and linguistically appropriate services to refugee and immigrant victims of domestic violence in a supportive and trusting environment. With more than 20 languages spoken on staff, we are uniquely prepared to meet both the language needs and the culturally specific issues of refugee victims of domestic violence. Advocates provide crisis intervention, as well as post-crisis services that help victims become survivors who are safe, stable, and self-sufficient.
Women’s Economic Empowerment program
Our Women’s Careers program provides targeted career development assistance to refugee women with a full range of English skills and professional backgrounds. Clients develop an individual career development plan with their employment specialist and establish job-related goals they can achieve within one year. Clients receive direct employment assistance, including resume writing, interview preparation, job searches, completing job applications, and other support toward employment goals. They may be matched with mentors when appropriate to provide guidance in their field of choice. Clients are connected with ESL services and other skill building resources that are necessary to prepare them for employment.
Contact the family empowerment program
|ALIVE (Advocacy, Leadership, Immigration, Voter Engagement)
Navigating our immigration system can be complex and our Immigration Services team provides high-quality and low- or no-cost legal services for refugees and immigrants, and advocates on behalf of refugees. We are committed to strengthening the lives of our clients and the metro Atlanta community as they move towards self-sufficiency. We support opportunities for enhanced civic education and encourage community involvement through initiatives like voter registration, promoting community organizing efforts, and leadership development programs.
advocacy
In collaboration with our partners in the Coalition of Refugee Service Agencies, our national partners at CWS, and other immigrant rights advocacy organizations, we advocate for more welcoming policies at both the federal and state levels of government. We also promote community organizing efforts to connect refugees and new Americans to opportunities to share their stories with legislators and advocate on behalf of themselves and their communities.
civic education and The Civic Pathways Leadership Program
voter engagement
Through our coalition work with other partners who are committed to increasing voter engagement throughout the state, we register new citizens to vote at every single naturalization ceremony. Our voter engagement program additionally consists of field-based voter registration, voter education workshops, and voter mobilization activities such as door-to-door canvassing and phone banking.
Meaningful civic engagement starts with connecting new Americans to foundational concepts around government and elements of how it operates. We conduct workshops in refugee and immigrant communities on a variety of topics.
Civic Pathways is an 8-month leadership development program created in partnership with the University of Georgia’s J.W. Fanning Institute of Leadership. A new round of applicants will be selected in early spring of each year and will participate in a series of monthly workshops, discussions, projects, and other activities designed to strengthen their skills as civic leaders in their local communities. Learn more about the program here.
