International Institute St. Louis

Social Services
International Institute St. Louis - Social Services

From our S. Grand facility, we offer an integrated service package of resettlement services to immigrants, refugees and their families. Specialized services include counseling and therapy for newcomers with trauma, individual and group work, and interpretation and translation. Case Management Mental Health Counseling Refugee Resettlement Social Work Services
Case Management We provide case management services for newly arrived refugees and other eligible immigrants, including those who move to St. Louis from other cities throughout the US. Our caseworkers assess clients’ needs and develop service plans. We act as advocates for newly arrived refugees and explain benefits information and applications. We also make referrals for medical issues and crisis intervention and provide life skills adjustment, housing assistance and community resources. On a limited basis, we are able to provide interpretation and transportation for clients; however, we can provide referrals to fee-based supportive services as needed. Registration hours: Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4:00 pm. Secondary migrants (refugees sponsored into other communities around the US and who then move to St. Louis) are welcome to register for case management services, Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4:00 pm. Secondary migrants registering with the Institute within the first 30 days after their arrival in the US may be eligible for temporary financial support as well. Our goal is to enhance independence and personal development so that immigrant newcomers can become quickly and effectively integrated into the community at large. Annually, more than 550 are served. Who is eligible? Participants must be refugees, asylees, and Cuban and Haitian entrants in the US for less than five years as well as qualified victims of a severe form of trafficking. In some cases, the five-year limit is waived. Generally, we provide services most intensively to newcomers in the first year after their arrival and then on an as needed more intermittent basis. Services are free to qualified clients. They are underwritten by a variety of public and private sources. *What our clients say:* “Caseworkers always there for us to help us with the problem and support us.” (Client from Russia) “Everybody is friendly in Institute from receptionist to caseworker, and we have fun in English courses; also obtaining information on how to build new life in USA.” (Client from Afghanistan) Contact Information Asmira Ogresevic (ogresevica@iistl.org) ext. 141 Ahmad Farid Barekzai (barekzaia@iistl.org) ext. 139 P. Ariel Burgess (burgessa@iistl.org) ext. 115 Return To Top
Mental Health Counseling We offer individual, group and family-centered services with an emphasis on post-traumatic stress, grief, depression and other responses due to migration-related trauma and torture. Methods used include a variety of therapeutic methods, including insight, cognitive behavioral therapy, and Healing Touch. Therapy is provided in the client's native language or in English. We are a member of the Care Assess for New Americans (CANA) mental health referral system for foreign born. The CANA care coordinator is housed at the Institute where she provides mental health screenings and therapy referrals to an agency participating in the CANA network. Registration hours: Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4:00 pm. Our goal is to reduce symptoms of trauma by helping to resolve crises and by increasing social support structures. Thus, clients can better achieve long-term self-sufficiency and security. Who is eligible? Qualified clients include all foreign-born individuals and family members. Services are free to qualified clients. They are underwritten by a variety of public and private sources. *What our clients say:* “The Institute helped save my life.” (Client from Bosnia) Contact Information Kathy Tucker, MSW, CANA Care Coordinator (burgessa@iistl.org) ext. 144 P. Ariel Burgess, MSW (burgessa@iistl.org) ext 115 Return To Top
Refugee Resettlement Each year, we also sponsor several hundred refugees for resettlement directly from war-torn areas around the world to St. Louis. We coordinate through US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, our national umbrella agency, to contract with the US Department of State to resettle refugees. For those we sponsor, we locate and set up an initial apartment and provide housing orientation once they’ve arrived at the airport, and we have picked them up. Over the first few weeks after their arrival, we also ensure that newcomers receive a wide variety of medical, orientation, and supportive services including medical screenings, school registration for the children, and referrals for English classes and employment services. Since resettlement grants are small, most refugee families begin work within 3 – 6 months after their arrival in the US. See our Myth Busters for details about the actual size of resettlement and other supportive grants. See US Refugee Resettlement Program for details about how it is administered. Registration hours: not applicable. However, secondary migrants (refugees sponsored into other communities around the US and who then move to St. Louis) are welcome to register for case management services, Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4:00 pm. Secondary migrants registering with the Institute within the first 30 days after their arrival in the US may be eligible for temporary financial support as well. Refugees are a vital source of new population for our region, especially for the City of St. Louis. The US Bureau of the Census reports that our region would have again reflected a net loss in population from the period 2000 through 2006 had it not been for our immigrant newcomers, including refugees. Who is eligible? Refugees overseas who have been approved for admission to the US Refugee Resettlement Program and whose applications have been forwarded to USCRI for resettlement within its member agency network. Services are without cost to qualified refugees. They are underwritten by a variety of public and private sources. What our clients say: “When we came here you were our ‘vodilja’ (star) who showed us the right way to adjust here.” (Client from Bosnia) “Thank you Institute for picking me up on the day I arrived. I had a caseworker who spoke my language, knew my culture, even though she was a Somali and I was not. Thank-you, I felt welcomed.” (Client from the Congo) “I am glad that you had food ready for us. Since we didn’t know the food, we didn’t eat anything while we were on the plane.” (Client from Somalia) Contact Information Booker Gilliam, Housing Manager (gilliamb@iistl.org) ext 145 P. Ariel Burgess (burgessa@iistl.org) ext 115 Return To Top
Social Work Services Our skilled social workers offer short-term individual and family counseling as well as supportive social work to immigrants and families in crisis. Crisis situations can include family conflict, domestic violence, complex medical problems, and children/youth behavioral issues. Our social workers work closely with other agency staff while also coordinating with resources around the community. Our goal is to alleviate the stress that immigrants and their families are facing by resolving problems and/or conflict. Thus, the family unit can continue to move in a positive direction toward self-sufficiency, independence and eventual integration into the wider community. Registration hours: Monday – Friday, 9 am – 4:00 pm Who is eligible? Qualified clients include all foreign-born individuals and family members. Services are free to qualified clients. They are underwritten by a variety of public and private sources. *What our clients say:* “I can talk about my problems, it gives me security.” (Client from Liberia) Contact Information Lara Fallon, MSW (fallonl@iistl.org) ext 160 P. Ariel Burgess, MSW (burgessa@iistl.org) ext 115
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