Programs

 

African Refugee Well-being Project

Supported by SJCH

 

In 2006, SJCH began supporting this community-based participatory research study through the UNM Department of Psychology with the goal of promoting the mental health, well-being, and empowerment of refugees in New Mexico through an innovative program that emphasizes mutual learning and the mobilization of community resources. The project has two components: (1) Learning Circles and (2) Advocacy.  Learning Circles occur twice weekly. Each meeting is two hours and involves refugee participants and undergraduates. Learning circles begin with cultural exchange, which provides a forum for refugees and undergraduates to learn from each other through discussions aided by interpreters. Next, one-on-one learning occurs as undergraduates and refugee participants work in pairs. Refugee participants choose their areas of learning such as speaking, reading, writing English or learning to complete job applications. Child and adolescent Learning Circles include homework help, tutoring, and other fun learning activities. The advocacy component is based on the Community Advocacy model, which has been successfully applied to domestic violence survivors and juvenile offenders. The undergraduate students spend an additional two to four hours weekly (outside of the Learning Circles) advocating for and transferring advocacy skills to their refugee family to mobilize community resources based on unmet needs identified by the family.