Immigrants deserve a social support network and effective prevention

Our intervention is aimed at preventing immigrants from worsening and eventually developing a mental disorder.

Often a large percentage of immigrants do not seek mental health services until they have experienced severe symptoms and their health care condition has worsened. That is why we are constantly developing key partnerships with organizations that offer mental health support.

Extreme migratory grief is real and can lead to serious mental health damage

Immigrants mourn many things: language, culture, land, and contact with family and friends.

Forced separation from family and loved ones leads to a sense of loneliness, especially when leaving behind small children or elderly and sick parents, whom they cannot bring with them or visit because it would be impossible for them to return to the US.

It is not the same to live this grief in good conditions as in extreme situations

And it is not the same either to suffer a stressful situation for a few days or weeks as to suffer it for months or even years. Stressors are cumulative and can also be potentiated. The combination of loneliness, the experience of extreme shortages, terror, asking for help, and not being understood have an acute impact on mental health.

Discrimination is also minimizing or underestimating the symptoms of mental health damage in immigrants

To be an immigrant is an extremely distressing situation. Through their journey, they experience extreme conditions in which basic needs such as food and housing are not met. They endure the treacherous conditions of the passage where they are often exploited and coerced by (mafias/gangs) into participating in inhumane acts. Furthermore, they are constantly under stress and fear of facing deportation back into the crime-stricken country they are fleeing from.

Their strength to continue fighting then begins to fail, and the immigrant suffers a disabling effect.

Our health system continuously disregards that immigrants face extreme situations that are far from being healthy. We need to stop misdiagnosing and underestimating the mental health journey immigrants face. The WHO itself does not have mental health programs for immigrants.

Immigrants face all kinds of obstacles that make family reunification a distant dream

Many immigrants come from cultures where family relationships are a big deal. They were born and raised in families with strong bonds of solidarity, making it even more painful for them to endure this emotional void during migration.

For immigrant children whose parents do not have papers, when their parents are delayed for a while in arriving home, they already think that their parents have been deported and will be left alone here.

Mental health care, for our team

To prevent secondary trauma and compassion fatigue we provide mental health support for staff working on the front line with our clients.

Do you belong to an organization that provides Mental Health Care Services?

Let’s join forces and make the world a better place!

Contact us.