Refugee Assistance THRIVE Fund

Together Helping Restore Independence, Vitality, and Empowerment
Every day, your support of Gulf Coast JFCS is helping uplift lives by welcoming newcomers of all faiths and ethnicities on their first steps on their paths to safety and stability across the State of Florida. Given the chance, refugees will continue to contribute to a stronger, safer, and more vibrant world. 

Gulf Coast JFCS is proud to partner with HIAS and ORR to welcome and assist refugees to successfully and safely resettle in our community.  Financial contributions directed toward the Refugee Assistance THRIVE Fund will assist newcomers from other countries with vital food, housing, employment, and child care or school-entry support.  Together, we “welcome the stranger as our neighbor.”

Florida Center for Afghan Survivors Impacted by Combat

To help Afghan survivors impacted by combat and their families, Florida Center for Afghan Survivors Impacted by Combat (FL-CASIC) provides medical, psychological, social, and legal services to survivors and their families.

To ensure survivors get the care they need to heal and gain self-sufficiency, our holistic service model focuses on the strengths of the person while addressing the effects of long term exposure to combat.

Our staff are fluent in Pashto, Dari, Urdu, and English.

Services Offered:

• Therapeutic Support and Guidance
• Community Connection
• Needs Assessment and Support Planning
• Monthly Support Groups and Trainings
• Medical Support
• Family Strengthening
• Limited Financial Assistance
• Social Services Support

Who Is Eligible?

1. Citizens or nationals of Afghanistan paroled into the United States until the end of the individual’s parole term.
2. A spouse or child of any individual described above until the end of the individual’s parole term.
3. A parent or legal guardian of any individual described above until the end of the individual’s parole term.
4. Citizens and nationals of Afghanistan for whom refugee and entrant assistance activities are authorized whose eligibility date is on, or after, July 31, 2021.

Florida Center for Survivors of Torture

Florida Center for Survivors of Torture (FCST) is a regional treatment center (Tampa Bay and Miami-Dade) for survivors of torture and extreme trauma. As the lead agency, Gulf Coast JFCS collaborates with area resettlement agencies, the University of South Florida, and Florida International University to provide survivors with intensive case management.  Through FCST’s extensive provider network, eligible torture survivors can access medical, mental health, social, and legal assistance services from providers who have been specially trained by the Florida Center for Survivors of Torture to work effectively and sensitively with this population.

A center without walls, FCST’s multi-disciplinary network of providers including psychiatrists, psychologists, interpreters, social workers, attorneys, and physicians promoting healing through:

• In-home intake assessments complete with psychosocial evaluations
• Linkage to a network of medical, mental health, legal and social service providers trained to work sensitively with survivors of torture
• Professional interpreters to accompany clients to appointments as needed
• Ongoing intensive case management and culturally specific educational/support groups

Refugee Employment Match Grant Program

Refugee Employment Match Grant Program provides services in Pinellas County to help refugees, Asylees, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and Special Immigrant Visa Holders (SIVs) to become economically self-sufficient within 120 to 180 days of program eligibility. Services provided are case management, employment services, maintenance assistance and cash allowance. Self-sufficiency must be achieved without accessing public cash assistance.

Refugee Micro-Enterprise Development

Refugee Micro-Enterprise Development promotes refugee women’s entrepreneurship and normalizes business ownership. This program benefits women who have owned or currently own micro-businesses, as well as those with little to no entrepreneurial or business experience, supporting them in navigating regulations and expanding on the skills that are critical to establishing and growing fiscally sound businesses in the U.S.

Refugee Preferred Communities

Refugee Preferred Communities provides intensive case management and supportive services to recently arrived refugees facing barriers to self-sufficiency.  Services include comprehensive case management and timely access to a wide range of community resources, employment services, and health care providers and medical treatment.

Support to Trauma Affected Refugees (STAR)

The goal of the STAR Program is the achievement of sustained physical, social, emotional, and economic well-being of newcomers whose experience of trauma impedes their ability to function effectively at home, school, work, or in social settings.

Activities in support of this objective include:

• Offering mental health services such as individual and group therapy, to trauma-affected newcomers, including vulnerable or marginalized groups such as survivors of domestic violence (DV), intimate partner violence (IPV), gender-based violence (GBV); children and adolescents; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and intersex (LGBTQI+) individuals who may be experiencing social, mental, emotional, and familial challenges.
• Providing evidence-based family-strengthening interventions that promote healthy family dynamics.

Refugee Resettlement & Placement

Refugee Resettlement & Placement resettles refugees from around the world who have been persecuted and fled their home country to come to Pinellas County with the dream of providing their families with a life of freedom, safety, and liberty.  With a goal to help refugees and their families become self-sufficient, services include case management, housing and household goods assistance, cultural orientation, referrals and follow up with a wide range of community service resources.

Top Ten Reasons to Hire Our Clients:

• Immediate Placement. We have documented, qualified candidates ready to go to work.
  
• Save Money. No need to pay for advertising, simply call us with your work order.
  
• No Paper Hassles. We will complete your company’s new hire paperwork and documentation.
  
• Tax Credits. Tax credits for employers.
  
• Workers With The Skills You Need. Our clients arrive with a wide variety of skills, from factory worker to professional.
  
• Flexibility. Employ flexible and loyal workers available immediately.
  
• Background Screening. Clients must pass a thorough background screening prior to coming to the US.
  
• Increase Your Productivity. Our clients bring with them an outstanding work ethic.
  
• Cultural Diversity. Increase the diversity of your staff by adding workers from around the world.
  
• Translators. We will provide a translator, if necessary, for initial training and orientation.