From Freedom House 2005 Annual Report

From the Executive Director
In this issue of FREEDOM I present the Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2005. It includes factual information about services provided, acknowledges our main collaborators, our board of directors and staff and the foundations and organizations that have worked with us this past year. I take this opportunity to inform you that I will be leaving my position as executive director effective May 5th, 2006. I have served Freedom House for the past eleven years, four as a member of the board of directors and seven as executive director.

As I look back at the past seven years, what stands out for me is the fact that, in spite of all the challenges we have experienced, Freedom House continues to be a beacon of hope. Hundreds of men, women and children are now living in peace either in the U.S. or in Canada and we have assisted them to attain this 'new beginning'. I am grateful to the staff with whom I have had the privilege to work for their dedication. I am grateful to the men and women on our board of directors for their service to Freedom House.

As I reflected on the past eleven years, Margaret Mead's words came to mind. She said "Never doubt that a small group of committed people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has". These words have been both inspiration and affirmation to me during my years of service here.

As I prepare to move on to another area of work, I want to thank each one of you for your ongoing commitment and support to this great cause and to ask that you continue your "for the long-haul" interest and support of this great organization. Refugees of the world depend on you. May peace prevail on earth!

Gratefully,
Gloria Rivera, IHM
Executive Director

CURRENT PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
During this past year Freedom House provided seven core services to its clients and to the community:

SHELTER
Freedom House has the capacity to provide shelter and food for up to 35 asylum seekers. Our average daily resident count this year was 32. In FY 2005, a total of 296 refugees received shelter. Most came from 11 countries around the world - Cameroon, Rwanda, Congo, Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Guinea and Burundi.

SOCIAL SERVICES
Refugees come to Freedom House in precarious physical and mental condition, having been tortured, imprisoned and/or raped. In FY 2005, 296 residents - 147 men, 103 women and 46 children - received social services. These included: o over 200 medical appointments and medical specialty services Nov. 2004 - Oct. 2005 Freedom House offers core services to clients/community

Specialized medical care was facilitated at greatly reduced costs. This included: two OB/ GYN ultrasounds, X-Rays, BCCHP/mammograms, internal medicine, urology, rheumatology, and neurology. EEG/MRI services through Henry Ford/CHASS Special Program were facilitated for one resident. Follow up and care through Henry Ford and Herman Kiefer Communicable Diseases Department was facilitated for two clients.

We expanded our relationship with the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) to include free medical and pharmacy services for Freedom House residents who receive mental health services from this agency. We also expanded our dental care provider base to include Advantage Healthcare, and negotiated reduced fees ($35/visit vs. $75/visit) for our clients through Family Care Medical. In addition, we facilitated healthcare workshops and training in CPR/First Aid (six residents were certified), communicable diseases and food safety.

Non-medical services included obtaining library cards for all our residents, State ID and driver's licenses, facilitating applications for Social Security Cards, and in some instances obtaining FIA assistance for those granted asylum. We successfully represented one of our clients in an FIA/Medical Assistance appeal case.

VOLUNTEER SERVICES
Our volunteer group included:
34 individuals (24 of them new volunteers) and 198 groups. They donated 1,956 hours to Freedom House and its residents. This included tutoring in English, taking people on outings to help them orient to U.S. culture, doing office work, presentations and workshops in the community about Freedom House, and conducting cultural exchange tours.

LEGAL SERVICES
The process of immigration involves a complex maze of paperwork, hearings and legal actions. Staff provide legal services to individuals seeking help with refugee applications, family reunification and resettlement. Freedom House provides educational forums on legal issues affecting refugees, such as the impact of new immigration laws on the process of seeking asylum. In FY 2005, Freedom House opened cases to provide legal services to 1,081 individuals seeking help with immigration related issues. Staff also handled anywhere from 15-20 telephone calls or emails per week (roughly 750 - 1,000/year) with questions regarding legal assistance.

Among the cases handled, 95 (9%) were U.S. asylum applications, 300 (28%) were indigent undocumented immigrants detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Michigan jails and 686 (63%) were refugees seeking asylum in Canada. Of the U.S. asylum applications completed in FY 2005, 23 were won and 5 were denied, 48 are pending and 23 are being appealed.

EDUCATION AND JOB TRAINING
While many refugees come to Freedom House with professional skills, others have yet to complete high school. Freedom House's Education and Job Training program helps residents to develop individualized employment plans including job training in order to find jobs that allow them to become financially independent by the time they leave the Freedom House program. In FY 2005, the Education/Job Training program served 49 individuals. Twenty-five were first-time clients. Clients' accomplishments include the following:
In education ….

In job training….

In employment ….

FINANCIAL REPORT

EXPENSES
*Note: Revenue does not reflect $39,900 grants receivable from various sources (as of 10/31/06)

REVENUE

EXPENSES

TRANSITIONAL HOUSING
Thirteen households (16 adults) who attained their olitical asylum status in FY 2005 are currently part of Freedom House's Transitional Housing program, which was started in 1998. To date, over sixty three households have completed the program and are financially independent.

PUBLIC EDUCATION
Educating the community about the plight of refugees, both in the United States and throughout the world, is key to the work of Freedom House. Staff, board members, residents and volunteers speak to a wide variety of groups who are interested in this issue. Locations include churches, schools, colleges, civic organizations and press conferences, TV and radio programs, Amnesty International groups and others. Freedom House is open to agencies for tours upon request. Freedom House supports systemic change through education of the general public on refugee and immigration issues. To this end, Freedom House will continue its efforts to increase the awareness of refugee issues and causes through media encounters, the Freedom House newsletter, speaking engagements and tours of Freedom House. In FY 2005, over 198 adults and students participated in seven cultural exchange tours of Freedom House. Staff gave over 30 presentations to local churches and agencies.

REFUGEE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMUNITY
As part of the process of acculturation, most refugees at Freedom House provide service to the community through volunteer work. This program began in the spring of 2005. Examples of work include: