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The Refugee & Immigration Services program is the second oldest program of Lutheran Social Services of Northeast Florida. It was created in the fall of 1980 in response to the influx of Southeast Asian refugees into the Jacksonville area.

The program provides critical support for people who come to the United States and cannot return to their country of origin. Of the more than 50,000 refugees resettled annually in the United States, most have been forced to leave their native countries due to political or religious persecution, famine, war, natural disasters or other instability. They arrive in foreign countries seeking a new start. The refugees enter through and are referred to LSS by Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) or Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), two national voluntary agencies.

The RIS staff members speak a total of 17 languages and come from 14 countries. They work to pave the way for refugees to learn about the American culture, government requirements, banking and employment processes. Their goal is to promote long-term economic self-sufficiency and effective resettlement for refugees, entrants and asylees.
Resettlement Services

Newly arriving refugees are introduced to their new community. Staff members help refugees secure safe housing, food, cash assistance, public health screenings, health care and Social Security cards. Children are enrolled in school, and acculturation begins for all entrants.

Employment Services
Eligible refugees are assisted for as many as 60 months in an effort to help them achieve economic self-sufficiency and effective resettlement as quickly as possible by helping them find gainful employment. Staff members help refugees search for jobs, write resumes and learn how to complete job applications. Emphasis in services is directed to new arrivals – defined as individuals who have been in the country for less than a year.

Career Laddering
This program assists refugees who have professional experience in their previous life in developing an individual career track based on agreed-upon career goals. Refugees are encouraged to target specific jobs and identify professional growth objectives, including further education needed, skills training and credentialing necessary before moving to the next step on the career ladder.

Refugee Youth & Family Services
These services assist eligible refugee youth and their families in achieving family stability and integration into the Jacksonville community. School liaisons work within six Duval County public schools to help refugee youth with all aspects of the public school educational system, such as development of good study habits and tutoring.

Integration Assistance
Integration Assistance Services (IAS) provides intensive case management to refugees who face significant social and cultural barriers in becoming self-sufficient. IAS also provides survival English classes for six weeks for all new refugee arrivals, with each week featuring a different acculturation issue, such as health care or education. Participants may enter and exit as needed.

Program at a Glance:

Program Director: Barbara Carr (bcarr@lssjax.org)

Program Founded: 1980

2008-09 Expenses: $1,733.032

2009-10 Budget: $1,955,149

2008-09 Refugee Resettlements: 295

Number of Employees: 34

2008-09 Employment, Integration and Youth Clients: 1,337

Services Provided:
• Initial Resettlement
• Integration Assistance
• Employment Assistance
• Youth/Family Services

2008-09 Notables:
• RIS provided resettlement, integration, employment and youth services to 1,337 individual refugees who spoke 32 different languages and came from 33 different countries.

• The program again received a significant grant from the Department of Education to augment services provided to refugee youth for summer camp and computer access.

• A World Refugee Day was held at Shepherd of the Woods Lutheran Church’s Lakeshore Property on June 19, 2009. The event brought together new arrivals from all three resettlement agencies working in Jacksonville (LSS, Catholic Charities and World Relief) in a cooperative venture. Each year at the event, refugees are able to network and visit with other refugees from Jacksonville.

• The RIS youth and family services program continued to generate funds in support of the refugee youth scholarship fund through its annual sale of an international cookbook featuring recipes from its staff and former refugees, in addition to a silent auction held at International Women’s Day, private donations and its scholarship lunch program held monthly at LSS.

• RIS once again participated in multiple special events throughout the year, including The World of Nations festival, the Jacksonville Jaguars Honors Row program and Faces of Jacksonville. LSS also co-sponsored the International Women’s Day celebration in the community, a day that celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women worldwide.

• The program managed eight contracts with multiple performance outcomes in 2008-09, as well as multiple MOUs (Memorandums of Understanding, which are partnership agreements) and monitorings.