Holistic Wellness for Georgia's Refugees

Family Intervention Specialists, Inc. (FIS) was founded in 1998 by Dr. David Anthony to meet the mental health and substance abuse treatment needs of children and families in Georgia. Many Georgia Families were unable to access mental health services due to the cost and/or lack of public transportation. There were few private providers who had sliding scales or accepted Medicaid or Peachcare. Due to the limited resources available, these children and families needs frequently went unmet. Currently FIS provides services to nineteen Georgia counties with a staff of over 225 people and serves 3,000 clients annually. In 2003, FIS became an approved Medicaid/PeachCare provider for the state of Georgia. In June of 2004 FIS was certified by the Georgia Department of Human Resources.

In 2010 FIS became aware of the mental health needs of refugee families in the Clarkston community. Our Medical Director Dr. Yassar Kanawati was volunteering her psychiatric services at the Dekalb County Board of Health's (DBOH) Center for Torture and Trauma Survivors program. A partnership was developed in order to continue to provide services to this vulnerable population. Following the partnership between DBOH and FIS, Harmony Refugee Services emerged as a program of FIS.

Currently Harmony Refugee Services strives to provide holistic mental health services to refugees in the Clarkston Georgia area. We offer a wide variety of services to meet the needs of our clients and are constantly striving to both engage the community and enhance our services.

  Dr. David Anthony

  Dr. Yassar Kanawati

The community of Clarkston is one of the most diverse square miles in America. The city started out as a railroad town in the late 1800s and quickly became a suburban center of Atlanta. In the 1990s, refugee resettlement agencies began placing new families in the city, due to the availability of affordable housing and its close proximity to Atlanta’s public transportation system.

Today, Clarkston is a diverse community. In our office we have clients who speak over fifteen languages. Clarkston High School has reported that their students come from fifty four countries and speak forty seven languages. The local grocery store stocks goods from around the world, and local places of worship are linguistically diverse. We are proud to be a service provider in this unique and culturally rich community.

did you know?

- Clarkston used to be known as ‘goatville’ after the Angora Goat. Having a goat in Clarkston was a status symbol in the 1800s.

- Clarkston is approximately 1.1 square mile

- In Clarkston’s 1.1 square mile, there are several churches (with services in several languages) a mosque, and a Buddhist temple.

- Last year, the Bhutanese Lhotshampas were the largest group of refugees to resettle in Clarkston.

places we love in the Clarkston area:

Baraka Shawarma - 404.228.2644 - 4188 E Ponce de Leon Ave Clarkston, GA 30021
- Delicious place for lunch in Clarkston, amazing fallafels.

ThriftTown - 404.296.6493 - 926 Montreal Rd, #A, Clarkston, GA 30021
- Best place to find groceries from around the world.

Nazifa’s Bakery - 678.698.8871 - 3711 N Decatur Rd Decatur, GA 30032
- Nazifa makes the BEST Naan and hummus in Clarkston, in our humble opinion.

Global Pharmacy - 404.299.8255 - 926 Montreal Road Clarkston, GA 30021
- Friendly staff and helpful too.