History of CIMH

In the months leading up to the 2016 US presidential election, concerns about the mental health and well-being of immigrants, and particularly undocumented immigrants, became a growing issue for many of us who were working closely with immigrants in Chicago, whether through research, community work, counseling, or other engagements. Yet, there was no official forum to discuss the unique mental health issues of immigrants in Chicago and the various efforts of diverse actors seeking to support these issues. In an effort to connect those who she knew expressed interest in addressing immigrant mental health issues, one passionate “Undocuactivist” working with advocacy-oriented community organizations brought together mental health practitioners and scholar-activists. It became clear to us in this meeting that more collaborative work was necessary, and that each of us knew of others who would be interested in joining such efforts. At the same time, the director of The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) understood the growing and ongoing mental health needs within immigrant communities and was actively seeking a network that could collaborate with them and supplement their ongoing policy and advocacy-based work.

Two days after the 2016 election, about 25 individuals from immigrant communities and those serving these communities came together to discuss the need for a way to unite our efforts on behalf of the wellbeing of immigrants and their families. We learned quickly from each other that families were in immediate crisis as a direct result of the election of a new administration. The urgent needs among immigrants and other marginalized groups resonated with our collective values to embrace community diversity, honor the human rights of all community members, and work toward social justice. Many of us were part of the immigrant community ourselves and already working on parallel efforts in our capacities as mental health practitioners, community organizers, faculty members and researchers. As such, we carried diverse forms of knowledge, research backgrounds and skillsets. 

Initial introductions during the first meeting helped us recognize our diverse backgrounds, our role as stakeholders directly impacted by immigration policy, and the strong potential our collaboration could have on immigrant communities in Chicago and Illinois, more broadly. This incited enthusiasm among group members and moved us into discussions of both short-term and long-term possibilities. Given the urgencies of the post-election context, our first order of business was to strategize how to utilize and streamline our existing efforts and resources to address the immediate mental health needs of the immigrant community. At the same time, we recognized the importance of building long-term university-community partnerships, and that a truly collaborative effort would need to bring together diverse stakeholders, including many other immigrants themselves. We agreed to make special efforts to invite undocumented immigrants of all ages to join our discussions and help steer our group engagements. Inspired by the courageous work of undocumented youth who have propelled the national immigration movement (Nicholls, 2013), we believed that research and community practice needed to engage and highlight the narratives of multiple and diverse immigrants in order to both challenge dominant perceptions of their lives and build more complex understandings that support their development and incorporation into U.S. society (Dao, 2017). The urgency of the moment and the recognition of great needs for immigrants gave rise to the Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health (CIMH).

Almost simultaneously and with similar urgency, other leaders and advocates began organizing on behalf of refugees and children who experienced trauma due to traumatic separation or migration experiences. Their efforts led to the founding of the Illinois Refugee Mental Health (ILRMH) Taskforce and to the Committee on Refugee & Immigrant Children (RIC) within the existing Illinois Childhood Trauma Coalition (ICTC).  These organizations led critical initiatives on behalf of refugees and immigrant children. They often worked alongside CIMH in developing resources, disseminating information, providing mental health training and engaging in advocacy efforts. Realizing the strength of our common concerns, ILRMH and RIC merged with CIMH in 2020. 

Beginning in March of 2020, the Coalition and ILRMH merged. Both groups shared missions that promoted the mental wellbeing of immigrant communities through coordinating professionals, disseminating resources, professional development opportunities and advocacy. Subsequently, the merger blended expertise across immigration statuses -- refugees, asylum-seekers, undocumented, unaccompanied minors – and increased the professional network for both organizations. The original focus of ILRMH continues through the ongoing work of the Refugee Community Wellness Workgroup.

Similarly,  ICTC-RIC merged with the Coalition in June of 2020.  Both coalitions overlapped and benefitted from shared membership and investment in advancing the emotional wellbeing and healing trauma of immigrant communities. With RIC’s increasing desire to get involved in policy and advocacy efforts (due to the powerful effects of immigration policy on child/family mental health), joining forces into a larger, more powerful organization made sense to coordinate timely responses to rapid changes in the sociopolitical climate. The RIC Committee’s focus on elevating children’s voices and the impact of trauma (beyond mental illness) will remain intact through the CIMH’s workgroup on Children, Families and Trauma.

To honor the many contributions that these two historical groups provided, please find their contributing stories below.

The History of ILRMH

Established in 2015 and co-founded by Aimee Hilado, Ph.D., LCSW (RefugeeOne) and Rose Malinowski (World Relief), the Illinois Refugee Mental Health (ILRMH) Task Force was a volunteer task force committed to ensuring access and promoting awareness around mental health needs and services for refugees in Illinois. They represented diverse professionals working with trauma-experienced refugees in refugee resettlement agencies, health clinics and hospitals, schools and community-based social service programs. Its members represented the fields of social work, psychology, counseling, public health, medicine, academia, early childhood education, public policy, and other allied disciplines.

 The multidisciplinary scope of its members reflected the nature of mental health practice with refugee populations. Mental health and the refugee experience are deeply intertwined, thus ILRMH’s approach to addressing the mental health needs required dynamic and complex collaborations across service settings and across disciplines. 

 ILRMH was structured to provide support and resources to front-line workers, to help facilitate dialogue and collaboration in refugee-focused interventions, and the exchange of information among those concerned with the health and well-being of refugee populations. To meet these goals, ILRMH hosted a series of engagement projects, resource lists and trainings that were available at no cost to participants/consumers.

The History of ICTC-RIC

The Illinois Childhood Trauma Coalition (ICTC) is a voluntary collaboration of organizations committed to applying a trauma lens to their efforts on behalf of families and children in the state. Founded in 2005, the Coalition is made up of over 120 public, private, clinical, research, advocacy and educational institutions.

The ICTC’s Committee on Refugee & Immigrant Children (RIC) was founded in 2015 to specifically address the critical, unique and growing needs of children and families from refugee and immigrant communities.  Co-founded by Rebecca Ford-Paz, PhD, a psychologist from Lurie Children’s Center for Childhood Resilience, and Willis Francis, LCPC, a Managing Director from Heartland Alliance, the RIC Committee built upon the ICTC’s long-standing resources on childhood trauma to encompass the unique experiences and needs of immigrant and refugee children and families. RIC was charged with (1) raising public awareness of how trauma can impact immigrant and refugee children at the premigration, migration, and postmigration phases of their journey; (2) developing the workforce necessary to meet the unique needs of these communities; and (3) assisting agencies in building their capacity to help immigrant and refugee families that may have experienced traumatic events.

RIC was comprised of a broad spectrum of volunteers from different disciplines and organizations working with immigrants and refugees, including schools, universities, health centers, faith-based organizations, and advocacy/policy organizations, among others. In spring of 2016, 73 multidisciplinary professionals from various agencies serving immigrant and refugee communities participated in RIC’s online needs assessment. Findings indicated that mental health services were the most frequently identified unmet need impacting clients served by respondents and that agencies identified a need for training in cultural attunement and trauma-informed practices for working with immigrant/refugee children and families. In response to these findings, RIC created three workgroups. The Public Awareness Workgroup strove to raise awareness among health and mental health providers, teaching and legal communities, as well as the general public, about the impact of trauma on the lives of immigrant and refugee children and youth. The Advocacy and Public Policy Workgroup informed front-line service providers of policy issues affecting refugee/immigrant children and families and engaged RIC members in opportunities to advocate for policy change that will prevent and mitigate traumatic experiences for immigrant and refugee children. The Workforce Development Workgroup engaged in a participatory curriculum development process (with members of the CIMH and ILRMH Task Force) and disseminated “You’re Not Alone” trainings post-2016 presidential election to multidisciplinary practitioners who provide support and services to this special population.

http://theictc.org/refugee-and-immigrant-children-committee/