Inspiritus January 15, 2019
On Tuesday, January 15, Angel Sorochak and Lauren Cruickshank from Inspiritus (formerly Lutheran Services of Georgia) spoke at the Hamiltons.
Ms. Sorochak, Regional Director, provided an overview of Inspiritus services. In addition to Refugee services, Inspiritus provides Foster and Adoption Services for medically fragile children; Disaster Recovery – long term help in construction, content recovery, and emotional care; Family Intervention Services for children who suffer from abuse or neglect ; Healthy Families Georgia teaches nurturing family skills; Disability Services provides residential housing to individuals with developmental difficulties.
Ms. Cruickshank is Program Manager for Refugee Services. Ms. Cruickshank explained what a refugee is…someone who has left their home because of a well-founded fear for his or her life. These people must register with the U.N. to confirm their status. There are 65 million displaced people in the world and 23 million refugees. Less than 1% are resettled to a third country. In the U.S., the State Department works with the U.N. vetting refugees. It typically takes many years for refugees to be approved for resettlement in the U.S.
Inspiritus is one of nine agencies in the U.S. that places refugees, and Savannah is one of the placement sites. There are strict government rules that define what services must be provided. The refugee is given a furnished apartment and a total living allowance of $925 per person. The refugee is also entitiled to 8 months of food stamps and Medicaid. Inspiritus provides a crash 90-day program teaching self sufficiency. Refugees are enrolled in English classes, children are enrolled in schools, and help is given securing employment. Cultural acclimation is an essential part of the case worker’s task …how to shop for food, how to take public transportation, how to navigate the legal, medical, and banking systems. Many refugees speak no English.
Inspiritus gets great help from volunteers who arrange the housing set-up, assist in cultural orientation, provide transportation assistance, work with children after school, and work with women refugees who are frequently isolated within the home.
Tragically, the number of refugees coming to Savannah has declined sharply due to the current Administration’s policies. Inspiritus was gearing up to serve 170 refugees in 2017 but had only 32 in the past year. Refugees come from many different places. Recently, many are Congolese. Refugees do well. They start out in low level jobs because of language and cultural issues, but they are hard-working, are often well educated, and very motivated. They can get their Green Cards in one year and can become citizens in five years. They are highly sought after in this time of short labor supply.
Inspiritus gets most of its funding from the Government but also receives funds from the United Way, from churches, and from individuals.
