Bethany Christian Services, Traverse City

Allie Burritt, Refugee Site Supervisor

With this award, Bethany Christian Services plans to engage Uniting for Ukraine parolees and Ukrainian refugees who are resettling in the Grand Traverse County area. The main goals of the program are to:

1. Foster connections and support among Ukrainian community members,
2. Increase Ukrainian newcomer’s mental health literacy, and
3. Create partnerships with mental health providers who specialize in trauma and war and speak Ukrainian and/or Russian to provide local and/or virtual support.

The adaptation for Afghan nationals will maintain the Zero Suicide core components, while also addressing socio-cultural factors and meeting specific needs and challenges faced within the Afghan community.

Office of Global Michigan – Refugee Health

Patient Baraka, Refugee Mental Health Coordinator, OGM

The Family Strengthening Intervention was adapted from the Family-based Preventive Intervention, which was one of the first family-based mental health preventative interventions to demonstrate effectiveness in randomized clinical trials and it is an evidence-based intervention listed with the National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices. A major innovation of this program was to use evidence-based home-visiting techniques delivered by refugee peers in their native languages. The Afghan Family Strengthening Intervention is being led by a joint team from the Boston College School of Social Work and the University of Illinois Chicago Department of Psychiatry.

Three resettlement agencies in Michigan were awarded grants to provide the program: Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County in Ann Arbor, Samaritas in Southeast Michigan and St. Vincent Catholic Charities in Lansing who collectively sent nine interventionists to the two- week in-person training for the program.

Treetops Collective, Grand Rapids

Latifa Ngeze, Collective Care Manager & Jenna Fiore, Program Director

Treetops Collective has expanded their Circles of Support program to reach additional refugee communities that are isolated from local resources due to barriers related to culture, language, childcare and/or transportation.

Since starting the program, Treetops has hired a Collective Care Program Manager who oversees the community-based Circles of Support, as well as hired six additional Collective Care Specialists, who speak the following languages: Kinyarwanda, Swahili, Somali, Nepali, Farsi/Dari and Arabic. Lack of resources combined with language barriers can be especially stressful when someone is new to a country which is why this model relies on training community-based facilitators to help people navigate such challenges directly in their language.

Specialists have completed intensive training and prepared to start facilitating the circles which launched in September 2023. Each Circle runs for six weeks and will help the community through a peer-based support model. The model discusses mental health to provide resilience strategies to address migration trauma, increases access to local services and builds community connection. Additionally, Treetops is now creating a train-the-trainer program to multiply the Circles of Support facilitators in more refugee communities, which will allow the program to be shared and replicated throughout the country.

The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), Dearborn

Shafiqullah Stanikzai, Coordinator of Public Health

ACCESS has collaboratively developed a survey to assess the mental health needs of refugees. This effort was made possible through the dedication of ACCESS team members: Corey Beckwith, Ola Bazzi, Abe Saleh, Zara Vahidy and Shafiqullah Stanikzai. The needs assessment is grounded in a thorough literature review and insights from the ACCESS Behavioral Health team. The survey was then disseminated through a variety of channels, including internal and external contacts, in-person interactions and local resettlement agencies working with refugees. The outcome of this assessment has been remarkable, with a total of 51 responses received: 25 from Afghans, 24 from Iraqis, one from Syria and one from Lebanon.

To guide focus group discussions, ACCESS crafted a comprehensive questionnaire that includes both questions and prompts tailored to the survey responses. The initial focus group has already taken place and the insights gathered will be applied to upcoming sessions. ACCESS is in the process of recruiting participants, having identified several potential individuals for future focus groups.

The Refugee Mental Health Initiative's needs assessment report is nearing its finalization stage. This report encompasses detailed analysis of responses, and its ultimate version, along with findings from focus groups, will be shared with the ACCESS Behavioral Health and Mental Health department. Dedicated professionals in this field will receive comprehensive training, through either in-person or virtual presentations, to effectively address identified concerns.

Furthermore, ACCESS formulated a program guide for the continuation of Project Amal. The team pinpointed suitable locations for sessions, such as ACCESS Hope House for cooking lessons, Arab American History Museum for history-related activities and the University of Michigan, Dearborn campus for nature walks. As before, the results will be shared with our Behavioral Health and Mental Health departments as training material.

Office of Global Michigan – Refugee Health

Patient Baraka, Refugee Mental Health Coordinator, OGM 

The Family Strengthening Intervention was adapted from the Family-based Preventive Intervention, which was one of the first family-based mental health preventative interventions to demonstrate effectiveness in randomized clinical trials and it is an evidence-based intervention listed with the National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices. A major innovation of this program was to use evidence-based home-visiting techniques delivered by refugee peers in their native languages. The Afghan Family Strengthening Intervention is being led by a joint team from the Boston College School of Social Work and the University of Illinois Chicago Department of Psychiatry.

Three resettlement agencies in Michigan were awarded grants to provide the program: Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County in Ann Arbor, Samaritas in Southeast Michigan and St. Vincent Catholic Charities in Lansing who collectively sent nine interventionists to the two- week in-person training for the program.

Arab American and Chaldean Council, Troy

Faten Bazzi, Director of Behavioral Health & Kayla Giltz, Clinical Supervisor

The idea for this program grew from gaining awareness of the lack of resources and support for recently resettled pregnant and post-partum Afghani women who were showing high rates of depression and isolation. The Council graduated its first cohort of participants in August 2023.

The Social Support for Afghan Mothers program provides a space for pregnant and new mothers who are Afghan Refugees in southeast Michigan, consisting of three parts:

1. Educational workshops and postpartum depression screening;
2. Mental Health First Aid Training; and
3. A new mothers wellness group.

Erika Brown-Binion, Executive Director

Refugee Women’s Empowerment Circles and Networking

Refugee Women’s Empowerment Circles and Networking is facilitated by a trained interventionist and consists of empowerment circles for refugee women, offering a variety of activities designed to support mental wellness. In addition, home visits, virtual options and weekend meetings are available when needed.

Newcomers on the Move

This program focuses on leadership development and building strong social networks through youth sports and physical activity.

Mental Wellness Education

This program will provides bi-monthly group mental health and stigma reducing education.

Through these programs, the Center engages the following community partners: Carly Pollack, Trauma Therapist, provides ongoing trauma informed staff training; Jessy Gregg, owner of Seams Fabric and Sewing, provides free support for sewing machine repair and fabric donations for program participants; Belinda Thurston, Certified Yoga Instructor, will provide weekly yoga practice for youth and women; Lansing Soccer Club, youth organized sports will provide reduced and free opportunities to participate in organized soccer. Arts Education, REACH Art Studio, youth after art educator and partner for Newcomers on the Move; Music Educator Lizabeth Desmet, MSU Community Music School youth after music educator and partner for Newcomers on the Move; Cheryl Williams-Hecksel, Evidence Based Trauma Certificate Coordinator, Consultant from MSU School of Social Work; Todd Martin, is providing free and reduced rate tennis lessons for Newcomers on the Move; Cara Weiler, Trauma/self-care specialist, United Methodist Church.