HEALTH PROMOTION

 Journey To Health

The Journey to Health Program is designed to empower refugees to improve and maintain their physical, mental, and social well-being through practical health education topics in a relaxed and culturally sensitive environment.

Topics covered include:

• The American Healthcare System
• Nutrition and Diabetes
• First Aid and CPR training
• Mental Health
• Women’s Health
• Domestic Violence
• Smoking Dangers
• Lead Poisoning in the Home

Home visits
Home visits are an important component to provide continued health education for refugees as a bridge to medical care providers and navigating health care. This program provides cultural brokerage, access to medical care providers, and assistance in navigating health care. Needs assessments are completed for the refugees and their families in order to create a program which best suits their individual circumstances. Our case management team is specifically trained and certified in community health. Home visits also serve as follow-ups on the Journey To Health project.

Clinical counseling 

Clinical counseling is intended to address and support refugee mental health needs. Supporting the healing process, we provide culturally-sensitive services and programs that encourage a successful transition and acculturation to the new social and economic reality, laws, customs and cultures that are unique to this country. The services we offer through the counseling project include formal screening, individual counseling, psychoeducational group sessions, advocacy, and referrals. Our counseling approach is primarily based on trauma informed care with specific clinical approaches based on the Trauma Story, psychodynamic approaches, career counseling, and various cognitive behavioral and processing techniques. There is an emphasis on culturally attuned models with accommodation for nuanced cultural challenges, such as stigma.

Our service is based on an integrated care approach where individual sessions are held at the Center. Both our direct services and our counseling services are located together. The co-location of services satisfies a fundamental cultural need centered around the stigma associated with specialized mental health centers. In addition, offering clinical services at the center removes some of the transportation barriers, as this allows refugee clients to find an array of services at one location.