Program

Pathways to Wellness: Integrating Refugee Health and Well-being (Pathways) supports the emotional well‐being of refugees by enhancing adjustment, increasing self‐sufficiency, and creating connections to the community. We use an innovative approach that identifies refugees with significant symptoms of depression, anxiety, and traumatic stress and connect them to the right care that promotes healing.

Refugee Health Screener-15 (RHS-15)

In partnership with Multnomah County Health Department (MCHD), we helped integrate refugee mental health screening (RHS-15) into the mandated physical health screening that all refugees undergo. Refugees who are positive on the mental health screening questionnaire are referred to us for centralized referral and care coordination. This results in early linkage to culturally-appropriate behavioral health treatment and better outcomes for refugee mental health.

Wellness and Adjustment Support Groups

Refugees often experience trauma from the resettlement process. To support refugee well being and integration, we offer adjustment support groups. We explore topics such as culture shock, the refugee experience and mental health. Some of our current groups include:

• Karen Women’s Weaving Group
• Garden Support Group and Wellness programing
• New Arrival Adjustment Support Groups
• Beaverton High School Newcomer Adjustment Support Groups

Refugee Peer Support Training for Professionals

We have adapted an 80-hour state approved peer support program for refugees. The curriculum trains Peer Support/Wellness Specialists in refugee specific emotional health promotion and peer-to-peer emotional support. A 40-hour version is also available.

Content focuses on skill development that decreases stigma while promoting self-care and coping skills. We work with professionals on providing psycho-education, patient navigation and care coordination, along with advocacy across service systems.

We offer trainings twice annually thanks to the support of Meyer Memorial Trust.

We work closely with HIV (+) refugees to provide culturally specific medical navigation and support. We partner with Oregon Health and Science University Partnership Project (PP) to promote the importance of medical care and adherence to medications and to provide tools to help clients function at a level that supports their engagement in care. 

Special attention is given to empowering clients and their families to voice their own needs and concerns so that they can address their medical needs independently in the future.

We have seen significant strides in clients’ ability to manage the disease and their understanding that through medical treatment and good self care, they can improve their quality of life.