Refugee Family Services

http://www.refugeefamilyservices.org/

5561 Memorial Dr., Stone Mountain GA, 30083-3237

Our Mission:
To support the efforts of refugee women and children to achieve self-sufficiency in the United States by providing education and economic opportunity.

The Communities We Serve
We serve refugees in the metro Atlanta area, focusing on the women and children who are often left behind by other programs.

Did you know?

• Thousands of refugees have resettled in the metro Atlanta area since the first wave of Vietnamese came in the 1980’s.

• Today’s refugees come from a myriad of cultures suffering the effects of protracted civil wars and massive human suffering: Bosnians, Somalis, Sudanese, Liberians, Burmese, Burundi, Vietnamese, Arabic and Kurdish-speaking Iraqis, and Meskhetian Turks.

• Women and children are often left out of services, primarily employment placement, provided for male refugees.

A Community Center, an Activity Center and Community Outreach
Refugee Family Services operates from a refugee community center and an activity center in close proximity to refugees who have resettled in Stone Mountain, and Clarkston, Georgia, two cities in the metro Atlanta area. The center is located at 5561-H Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain near where many refugees have been resettled.

Background and History
Refugee Family Services, which was formerly known as Newcomers’ Network, is an outgrowth of the Save the Children/Child Care Support Center (STC/CCSC), Atlanta. It was started in 1986 as a program that provided childcare training to refugee women in the metro Atlanta area. Later, it grew into the Refugee Program of STC/CCSC, at which time it added to a wide variety of programs. It was incorporated in 1996 under the name Newcomers’ Network to operate the refugee program as a stand-alone entity and became a fully independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on October 1, 1997. The organization was renamed Refugee Family Services in April 2002 to better reflect its mission.


RFS Programs

During the past year, RFS served approximately 2,500 refugee/immigrant women and children in the metro-Atlanta area. RFS provides critical human services, youth programs, health services, education programs and domestic violence prevention programs. This work furthers our mission to support the efforts of refugee women and children to achieve self-sufficiency in the United States by providing education and economic opportunity.

During the past ten years of service, programs designed to achieve self-sufficiency have worked. In the past year, successes with the women and youth clients we serve include:

• 109 refugee women received job readiness training and jobs placements. RFS caseworkers performed 90-day and one year follow-up reviews to ensure their clients’ continued success at work.

• 240 refugee and immigrant women and children took steps toward violence free lives. RFS provided crisis intervention services and shelter placements to ensure a safe and healthy future for themselves and their families.

• 107 refugee youth participated in the RFS After-school Program. These youngsters developed academic skills in a safe and welcoming environment.

• Parents were connected to nearly 75 schools and eight Head Start/Pre-K centers to improve their children’s education. Our caseworkers also performed 3,321 advocacy and interpretation services ensured that school-family communication lines remained open.

• 45 refugee families currently have a volunteer match for the three month Family Literacy tutoring program. Volunteers not only instruct their families on the English language, they impart valuable insight into American culture.

Please click on the tabs above to learn more about the RFS Women’s Program, Youth and School Services Program, and Strengthening Families.