Somali Health Board’s Mental Health program is a program that is available to the estimated 8,000 Somali residents in King County. Somali people face challenges in cultural and language barriers that impact their access to resources and advancements daily. Most refugees and immigrants suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and many Somalis relay having depression. The trauma experienced that lead Somalis to the U.S. continues to have substantial impacts on mental health. To combat this, it is crucial to understand the Somali communities’ needs and provide services that integrate cultural humility, are culturally responsive, evidence-informed holistic care that is individual to each person’s needs. Somali Health Board is best known for its advocacy to provide those uniquely catered services.
Our goals:
- Reduce the stigma around symptoms of mental illness, diagnosis, and treatment
- Reduce the distrust/fears around mental health providers
- Build a greater understanding of the public health system and how public schools, doctors, and mental health care providers work together
- Continually educating and raising awareness on mental health impacts on individuals in the Somali Community
- Normalize conversations about mental health and discuss how war trauma impacts opportunities.
- Provide preventative and intervention services before families reach the point of calling emergency services like 911.
- Ensure that this program reduces or eliminates barriers to successful engagement for the Somali community.
Services we provide:
- In-House Mental Health Case Management and Referrals. The service allows you to work with trained social workers that will provide evidence-based care management service for symptoms of mental illness and create a care plan so clients can receive referrals for their unique resource needs.
- Host Community Listening sessions & Community Conversations. These sessions are open discussions on mental health topics. These sessions are utilized as a guide for the next community workshops’ topic and catering the needs of the community to them.
- Host Culturally Responsive Workshops. These are educational workshops used to educate the Somali community and engage in dialogue that helps destigmatize mental health and foster healthier practices.
- Serve as a Resource Hub by Developing and Distributing Comprehensive Mental Health Resource Guides. This service provides comprehensive and culturally competent resources regarding mental health in the King County area for individuals in need.
- Somali Youth Mental Health programs. Somali Youth Mental Health Awareness program is a youth-centered Mental health education program that will focus on mental wellness and a variety of mental health topics while being culturally sensitive and allowing a safe space for open discussions.
- Host Community Gatherings. This service provides a safe and positive space for community members to make connections, have conversations, build rapport, and share resources.
- Drugs and substance abuse trainings for community members. This service was designed for a community member to have access to life-saving trainings and is a part of continually educating the Somali community on diverse health topics.
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