Wieling, E., Trejo, A.N., Ellen Patterson, J., Weingarten, K., Falicov, C., Hernández, A.V., Cook Heffron, L., Faulkner, M. and Parra‐Cardona, J.R. (2020), Standing and Responding in Solidarity with Disenfranchised Immigrant Families in the United States: An Ongoing Call for Action. J Marital Fam Ther, 46: 561-576. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12460
Raising Awareness and Sharing Information About the Current Realities Faced by Immigrant Families
TXICFW Director Monica Faulkner and Girasol Program Coordinator Ana Vidina Hernández are two of the co-authors in a new article published by the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy earlier this month.
The article covers an overview of how mental health professionals can promote solidarity and social action for immigrant families as COVID-19 continues to highlight and magnify structural inequalities faced by marginalized populations during the pandemic. To understand the American immigration system is to better understand the grief, chronic stress, and tensions impacting both the family structures and the health of people attempting to navigate to safer spaces.
In order to address these big issues, the authors break down the effects of immigration policy, discussing the impact of mental and relational health, and provide examples of three community projects designed to better support immigrant families, including our very own Girasol program. Below is a quick summary about each of the three programs and what they’re doing to help mobilize their communities.
Safe Harbors and Rapid Response
This is a volunteer collaboration between University of San Diego’s School of Nursing and the Marriage and Family Therapy Program. Students within these two schools volunteer once a week at local shelters that primarily house asylum seeking families, drawing on their educational backgrounds to engage with families and children through hands on activities and support.
Witness to Witness (W2W) Program
This program was developed to help the helpers— healthcare workers, community helpers, advocates, counselors, and attorneys who experienced stress or secondhand trauma working with their clients and patients.
Girasol
Working at the intersection of immigration and mental health, Girasol provides practical trainings for attorneys on trauma-informed approaches and for mental health professionals working with immigration legal services providers at the Texas-Mexico border.
Cite this publication:
Wieling, E., Trejo, A.N., Ellen Patterson, J., Weingarten, K., Falicov, C., Hernández, A.V., Cook Heffron, L., Faulkner, M. and Parra‐Cardona, J.R. (2020), Standing and Responding in Solidarity with Disenfranchised Immigrant Families in the United States: An Ongoing Call for Action. J Marital Fam Ther, 46: 561-576. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12460