Our activities have focused on community-based psychosocial education, case management and mental health services for newcomers in our communities. These newcomers include refugees, aslyees and other immigrants, whose primary language is not English or who do not speak English at all.

Starting in the fall of 2006, refugees from Burma and elsewhere were resettled en masse in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially in Oakland.

Some have moved on to other states, while many remain in our Bay Area communities. Services that we started continue at various community health and social services centers.

A community-based nutrition expert, case managers and counselors, all working with interpreters, provided psychoeducation sessions for newly arrived refugees from Thai-Myanmar border. We collaborated with the ethnic community leaders of our target outreach populations.

Community-based outreach workers, case managers and counselors, all working with interpreters, conducted small group sessions at a day-long event. In addition, youth volunteers conducted groups for youth and children. This program linguistically and culturally targeted ethnic minorities from Burma, including Karen, Karenni, Chin, and Kachin people.

Counselors and case managers provided psychosocial and psychoeducation sessions for newcomer students with any immigration status. The program included referral to primary health care and counseling services. Support services for the students’ family members were also provided as necessary.

photo: Oakland International High School.org