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Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project
The Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project marked the first anniversary of its operation on February 1, 2004. The Project is a cooperative effort of 15 different social service, resettlement, mental health care, and community agencies serving refugees from all over the world. The project is funded by grants from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, through the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. Other organizations involved in the project are:
Using the "Power of Two: Marriage Skills Workshops" by Dr. Susan Heitler http://www.therapyhelp.com as a basic model, we created our own curriculum that allows us to provide culturally appropriate, Marriage Skills Education to refugees from more than 30 different countries. In addition to the Marital Program, we have a culturally-appropriate Parenting Skills Curriculum as well as our newest addition, "Teenagers, Relationships and Cultural Transitions." The Parenting Program as well as the Teenage Program incorporate a number of other models in addition to the "Power of Two."
The main goal of the Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project is to facilitate successful cultural integration of couples and families by helping them combine the effective relationship and communication skills of their culture of origin with those ones of their new, US-American culture. We also see the Healthy Marriages and Healthy Family education provided by the Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project as a way to prevent domestic and relationship violence.
Agencies involved in the Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project make an ongoing effort to reach out to other professionals and the community at large by providing education about the issues of refugee cultural adjustment and its affect on marriages and families. There is a growing interest in the model we have created in Chicago among family life educators involved with refugee populations in other states and cities. Furthermore, we are looking into the possible ways of providing technical support to agencies that are planning to start similar programs. For more information contact Tatyana
Fertelmeyster, coordinator of the Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project at tatyanafertelmeyster@jfcschicago.org
Marital, Parenting and Teenage Relationships Education for Refugees
Bosnian and Herzegovinian American Community Center
Bosnian and Herzegovinian American Community Center serves refugees from the Former Yugoslavia as well as members of a multiethnic community of Chicago. The Center provides parenting and marriage skills classes for adults and programs for teenagers that address different aspects of relationships and growing up in a new culture.
Contact information:
Bosnian and Herzegovinian American Community Center
1257 W. Devon Ave.,
Chicago, IL 60660
Phone: (773) 274-0044
Fax: (773) 274-6188
Executive Director: Zumreta Kunosic,
bhacc1@aol.com
Family Program: Jasmina Pojskic,
jasminapojskic@yahoo.com
Fadila Champara,
fadilac@hotmail.com
CAI is a nonprofit, social service organization founded in 1976 by a group of Cambodian refugee volunteers in order to respond to the needs of Cambodians fleeing the tyranny, brutality and torture of the Khmer Rouge regime and resettling in Chicago. All Cambodian clients are refugees or the children of refugees who escaped the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge's "Killing Fields" in which two million people perished. CAI is the only service provider in the Chicago Metropolitan area which provides bilingual programming to addresses the interrelated social and economic needs of the Cambodian American population.
The Strengthening Cambodian American Families Project reaches out to troubled and at-risk teens and their families in order to identify and address the challenges they face impacting the teens' education and behavior. The project is aimed to decrease the dropout rate among Cambodian American youth and enhance the possibility of their future success and career development.
Contact information:
Cambodian Association of Illinois
2831 West Lawrence Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
Phone: (773)878.7090
Fax: (773)878.5299
www.Cambodian-Association.org
Executive Director: Kompha Seth,
cai@Cambodian-Association.org
Family Outreach Worker: Kathy Reun,
kathy@cambodian-association.org
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago
Catholic Charities serves clients with Refugee and
Asylum status as well as those paroled by BCIS (Bureau for Citizenship
and Immigration Services). The majority of the population the agency is
currently serving comes from Africa (Somalia, Liberia, Sudan, and Congo),
Middle East and Asia as well as from Cuba, Columbia and other Latin-American
nations. The Catholic Charities provides programs for teenagers that
concentrate on issues of interpersonal relationships and dating while
mastering a transition to a new culture.
Contact information:
Catholic Charities of the
Archdiocese of Chicago
126 N Des Plaines
Chicago, IL 60661
www.catholiccharities.net
Program Director: Elma Kulovic
(312) 655-7856, ekulovic@catholiccharities.net
Family Adjustment Counselor: Ljubomir Jovanovic
(312) 655-8516, ljovanov@catholiccharities.net
Chinese Mutual Aid Association serves refugees and immigrants from China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Europe, and
Latin America. As a part of the Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project, the Association
offers workshops for teenagers helping them develop skills for healthy interpersonal
relationships.
Contact information:
Chinese Mutual Aid Association
1016 W. Argyle St.
Chicago, IL 60640
Phone: (773) 784-2900
www.chinesemutualaid.org
Youth Program Manager: Linh Pham
linhp@chinesemutualaid.org
East Central Illinois Refugee Mutual
Assistance Center offers Family Support and Strengthening Program that
include individual, couples and family counseling for the refugees and
immigrants from Africa, Vietnam, Laos, Eastern Europe and Middle East.
The Center provides Marital and Parenting Skills workshops for its clients
and members of the community as well as programs for teenagers including Discussion
Groups for Young Women and Relationship Skills Workshops for Young Men. The agency works in
collaboration with the Department of Psychology of University of Illinois and provides
education for professionals about refugee children and families, their needs and problems.
Contact information:
East Central Refugee
Mutual Assistance Center
302 Birch
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 344-8455
www.ecirmac.org
Co-directors: Anh Ha Ho and Deborah Hlavna
ecirmac@hotmail.com
Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago
(ECAC)
ECAC is a not-profit, charitable organization committed to serving the cultural, psychological and socio-economic needs of members of the Ethiopian community in the Chicago and surrounding areas, as well as other groups who seek its services. Established in 1994, ECAC assists in the promotion of personal growth, financial stability, positive family and community relations and community empowerment of its constituency. ECAC serves refugees from Africa (Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, Liberia, Congo), Middle East, Eastern Europe, Central and Southeast Asia and Bosnia. Being a part of the Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project Ethiopian Community Association of Chicago offers Positive Parenting Skills workshops.
Contact information:
Ethiopian Community Association Of Chicago
4750 N. Sheridan Room # 249
Chicago, IL. 60640
Phone: (773)728-0303
Program Coordinator: Eddy Kaka
Case Manager: Almaz Seyoume,
aseyoume11@yahoo.com
Contact information:
Family Ministries, Archdiocese of Chicago
155 East Superior Street
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone:
(312) 751-1002
Special Projects Coordinator: Juliet Beriou
jberiou@archchicago.org
Heartland Health Outreach - International FACES serves refugee children, adults, and
families who often struggle with the impact of losing their home and country while having to
become accustomed to a new country, a new language and different customs and values.
Support and assistance is beneficial during this time. International FACES provides this
support. Services are provided by staff, often refugees themselves, who are sensitive to
or have experienced the emotional distress and confusion caused by trauma due to war and
displacement. The goal of the work is to enhance the quality of life for refugee children,
adults and families by providing culturally and linguistically appropriate, comprehensive,
supportive services for individuals who suffer from trauma-related distress or serious emotional
problems exacerbated by their refugee (migration) experience.
Service is provided in the following languages: Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Assyrian, Bosnian,
French, Kurdish, Lingala, Oromania, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Tigrenya, and Ukrainian.
Most other languages can be accommodated with advanced notice.
As a part of the Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project Hartland Health Outreach: International FACES is offering Parenting classes and Marriage Skills classes.
Contact information:
Heartland Health Outreach
International FACES
4750 North Sheridan Road, Suite 300
Chicago, IL 60640
Fax: 773-751-4174
www.heartlandalliance.org
International FACES Contact Person:
Thad Rydberg
773-751-4188, trydberg@heartlandalliance.org
Heartland Human Care Services - Refugee Families Program works with refugees from
Cambodia, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Congo, Ivory
Coast, Liberia, Togo and Nigeria now living on the north side of
Chicago. Sessions focusing on issues around teen socializing and dating are
offered to individuals and groups. The agency staff is also available to do
professional presentations on subjects related to the refugee adjustment
process.
Contact information:
Heartland Human Care Services
4411 N. Ravenswood Ave., 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 728-5960 x308
(773) 728-6929 fax
www.heartlandalliance.org
Jenny Mack, Manager, Refugee Youth and Family Services
jmack@heartlandalliance.org
Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Ministries for over 22 years now has been serving refugees, immigrants, and asylees from around the world as they strive to resettle successfully in Illinois. Among many of IRIM's programs are Youth Services, Women's Empowerment Program and the Pan-African Association (a mutual-assistance agency). Interfaith employs some 45 individuals, most of whom were immigrants or refugees themselves. Its staff speaks approximately 25 different languages, and heralds from about 15 countries.
Staff involved in the Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project has been trained to provide educational outreach pertaining to Healthy Marriages and Healthy Families. This enables trainees to assist refugee children, women, and men to master cultural adjustment and realize self-sufficiency as a family unit. Workshops and sessions are planned on a monthly basis and offered to an array of ethnic groups primarily from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
Contact information:
Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Ministries
4753 N. Broadway, Suite 401
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 989 5647
www.irim.org, irim@irim.org
Jewish Family and Community Service is dedicated to strengthening individuals, families, and communities in the Chicago area by empowering people to care for themselves and others. Skilled and dedicated professionals provide counseling, crisis management, homemaker services, refugee resettlement services, and education to more than 20,000 individuals each year. Since 1859, JFCS has been serving clients in the Jewish community and their neighbors.
As a part of the Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project Jewish Family and Community Service provides parenting classes for the refugees and immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
Contact information:
Jewish Family and Community Service
216 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 700,
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 357-4800
www.jfcschicago.org
Illinois Refugee Family
Strengthening Project Coordinator: Tatyana Fertelmeyster, LCPC
(847) 392-8820
tatyanafertelmeyster@jfcschicago.org
Vietnamese Association of Illinois
Vietnamese Association of Illinois serves refugee families from Vietnam, Bosnia, Ethiopia, Cambodia, and other countries. The Association offers life skills classes to youth ages 6-20 with age appropriate classes for each. A series of classes "Teenagers, Relationships and Cultural Transitions" are offered once a month.
Contact information:
The Vietnamese Association of Illinois
5252 N. Broadway, 2nd floor
Chicago, IL 60640
773.989.6153
Program Coordinator: Lephuong Tran,
lephuongtran@yahoo.com
Youth Counselor: Ellen Sidorski,
ellensidorski@hotmail.com
World Relief, Chicago - Horizons Clinic is a mental health program housed within a refugee resettlement agency serving refugees from
Cuba, Columbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, Sierra Leon, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Bosnian, Kosovo, Russia, Burma, Lebanon. Horizons Clinic assists
adults and children providing individual, family and group counseling and psychotherapy in
addition to case management and advocacy.
As a part of the Illinois Refugee Family Strengthening Project World Relief, Chicago
offers a number of programs including a group for young single adults from Sudan, classes
for teenagers addressing issues of dating and parenting classes for refugees from Liberia
and from the Somali Bantu community.
Horizon Clinic has also been hosting a monthly lecture series with experts in the community addressing issues relevant to refugee mental health.
Contact information:
World Relief-Chicago
Horizons Clinic
3507 W. Lawrence Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
(773) 583-9191
www.wrchicago.org
Clinic Director: Steven Yousha, PsyD, LCSW, syousha@wr.org
Assistant Director: Kristen Huffman-Gottschling, LCSW,
khuffman@wr.org
Marriage and Family Counselor: Robert Barasa,
rbarasa@wr.org
Children's Social Worker: Rana Yu, LCSW,
ryu@wr.org
(WRD-CC) is dedicated to providing comprehensive counseling and mental health services to refugees and their families. Bi-cultural counselors and
trained interpreters provide individual, group and family counseling in a culturally competent
manner. Many of the services are tailored to specific needs of the different ethnic groups and
are integrating non-traditional methods of therapy. WRD-CC works with refugees from Africa
(Liberian, Somali, Somali Bantus, Sudanese, Ethiopians, Eritrean, Sierra Leon, and Tunisians), Middle East (Iraqi, Iranian, and Kurdish), Eastern Europe (Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian, Albanian, Kosovo-Albanian and Russian), and Afghanis
The Family Strengthening Program has been funded by DuPage County Human Services Department during the last several years. During the 2003/2004 the Counseling Center took part in Illinois Refugee Strengthening Program, which allowed staff to expand programs specifically dedicated to refugee families.
A variety of workshops, psycho-educational programs, support groups and activities are organized by
WRD-CC with the goal of educating parents and supporting them in their roles during the period of adjustment to the new culture.
Contact information:
World Relief DuPage - Counseling Center (WRD-CC)
1825 College Avenue, Suite 230
Wheaton, Il 60187
(630) 462 7566
Fax: (630) 462 8203
www.worldrelief.org
Director of the Counseling Center: Liliana Popovic, LCPC, LPopovic@wr.org
World Relief, Moline works with refugees from Sudan, Liberia, Sierra Leon, Afghanistan, Iran, Bosnia, Serbia and Cuba, providing a variety of services necessary to facilitate families' adjustment to a new country. The agency provides classes for adults on marital relationship skills and parenting skills.
Contact information:
World Relief, Moline
3115 Ave of the Cities,
Moline, IL 61265
(309) 764-2279
Fax: (309) 764-2399
www.wr.org
Case Manager: Ratko Rastovic,
rrastovic@wr.org
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