Bilingual International Assistant Services
Working for the Underserved Since 2002
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Immigrants often arrive in America with no English language skills, very little or no support, with many complex trauma that inhibits their ability to adapt and thrive in our society. We seek to help these immigrants gain access to healthcare, therapy, and other human services through various community-based programs that we offer. Such programs include mental health initiatives like Project Safe Space for children, Survivors of Torture and War Trauma, and Steps to Better Health. We also provide naturalization services through our tutoring program, as well as interpretive services for all these programs. 90% of our services are delivered in the community-at homes, schools, and medical facilities throughout the St. Louis region.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Mental Health Services
Bilingual International Assistant Services maintains certification from the Missouri Department of Mental Health for its multiple lines of adult and youth behavioral health programming. For almost two decades, we have worked to break down stigma around counseling and mental health work in the communities we serve. We offer several tracks of mental health services for adults, families, and children. Most services delivered in-home, in-school, or community settings.
With the 2014 introduction of childrens trauma counseling (ages 5 - 19 years), the 2016 merger with the STL Center for Survivors of Torture, and the 2023 Afghan Combat Survivor program, we take on some of the most difficult trauma treatment in the field. We embrace this challenge and know firsthand that rehabilitation work can be successful and benefit whole communities. BIAS employs only fully or provisionally licensed mental health clinicians across all of its programming, because our clients deserve no less.
Social Services
Imagine trying to comprehend the many different varieties of Medicare in something other than your native language. Now tackle food stamp applications. Recertification. MoHealthNet benefits
Our multilingual Social Service professionals help mitigate the anxiety and confusion of navigating systems of care for foreign-born adults especially seniors. Anchored by our St. Louis International Senior Center (shuttered for 9 months of 2020 due to COVID), our Community Access Workers provide direct services including citizenship assistance in the communities we serve. We ensure that everyone can obtain supports for which they are legally eligible.
Senior Services
St. Louis International Senior Center is the first designated senior center for the foreign-born in Missouri. Senior center offers multilingual services, ethnic food and transportation to several diverse senior groups. These seniors enjoy socialization, learning and occasional tours around Saint Louis
Education and Advocacy
Education, provided to both groups and individuals, includes the following topics: US History and US Civics to seniors and survivors of trauma; community education and provider education regarding how to structure and optimize the use of interpreters; advocacy pertaining to Title VI and CLAS standards; education and enrollment as CLAIM Medicare counselors; Affordable Care Act Navigators, and more.
Language Services
In over 40 languages and for nearly two decades, Bilingual International Assistant Services has provided professional language interpretation and written translation services for St. Louis and the surrounding region. A team of professional interpreters with working experience across a wide spectrum of settings offers services. We adopt a non-advocacy model of interpretation, allowing the provider to take charge of each session and empowering a consumer to practice their right to self-determination.
Skills demonstrated by our interpreters:
* Proficiency in both English and the target language
* General knowledge and understanding of both cultures
* Ability to communicate clearly and concisely in both languages
* General knowledge of the subject to be interpreted
* Strict compliance with government-mandated privacy laws
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Immigrants and migrants, Economically disadvantaged people, People with psychosocial disabilities
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our main goal continues to be remaining nimble enough to identify service gaps for the Refugee, Immigrant, and Migrant communities and addressing these with quickly professional services. All of our services are oriented toward eliminating barriers to care for underserved populations, specifically in the St. Louis area. As an organization, we are looking to diversify revenue and retain staff as we add programming. We are also invested in ensuring continuity of leadership and continuity of services. Finally, we are committed to raising our agency's profile and bringing more awareness to the critical work we do.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Ongoing elimination of service barriers to legal, mental health, and social services created by systemic racism, language access, and immigration status through professional no-cost/low-cost navigation by linguistically and culturally competent staff.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Agency has a committed Board that created the Strategic Plan during a convened 2-day Board Retreat in 2020. Board requires Executive Director to update and submit progress toward plan goals quarterly. An invested core of long-term employees was also engaged in the planning and the execution of plan activities. Most of the direct service staff is already in place to carry out service expansion activities.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have hired an Assistant Director to provide continuity of leadership. We have increased service revenue in Language Services and Legal activities. We are in the process of revamping annual review procedures and compensation reviews to enhance employee engagement. We have expanded adult mental health services to Afghan evacuees. We are in the process of building out our public agency profile.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Language barriers and costs associated with interpretation/translation
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Bilingual International Assistant Services
Board of directorsas of 01/26/2024
Scott Wright
Washington University in St. Louis
Mario Lozina
AT&T Corporate Finance/Loz Lures
Scott Wright
Washington University in St. Louis
Luis La Torre
La Torre Legal
Zachary Mueller
Social Security Administration
Sharafina Azman al Rashid
Aon plc.
Lou Abboussie
Community Advocate
Jim Beatty
Lindbergh School District, Foreign Language Dept. Director, Retired
David Donovan
Missouri Dept. of Natural Resources
Heidi Moore
St. Louis University
Anwuli Okwuashi
St. Louis University
Matthew Ma
Clergy, Society of Jesus
Diane Magee
A+ Alternatives in Aging
Erica Becker
Mark Andy Inc.
Anthony Graham
St. Louis Immersion Schools
Alia Arif
Weber Shandwick
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 07/13/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.