Posted on Apr 21, 2023
St. Louis nonprofit to help Afghans recover from the trauma of conflict in their homeland
362
10
2
7
7
0
Bilingual International Assistant Services is providing newly arrived Afghans who suffer from combat-related trauma with mental health support.
The St. Louis nonprofit received a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement to offer mental health assessments, counseling services and individual and group therapy sessions to Afghans who moved to St. Louis after August 2021. The Services to Afghan Survivors Impacted by Combat program also will provide psychiatric counseling and long-term psychiatric care.
Newly arrived Afghans in the region are suffering from anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder and need help coping, said Haroon Safi, program coordinator at Bilingual International Assistant Services.
“Leaving everything [for] Western life, that's a big culture shock for them, so that will intensify everything — their mental health situation,” Safi said.
Afghans who arrived in the U.S. as part of Operation Allies Welcome or Operation Allies Refuge can qualify for the mental health services.
The St. Louis nonprofit received a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement to offer mental health assessments, counseling services and individual and group therapy sessions to Afghans who moved to St. Louis after August 2021. The Services to Afghan Survivors Impacted by Combat program also will provide psychiatric counseling and long-term psychiatric care.
Newly arrived Afghans in the region are suffering from anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder and need help coping, said Haroon Safi, program coordinator at Bilingual International Assistant Services.
“Leaving everything [for] Western life, that's a big culture shock for them, so that will intensify everything — their mental health situation,” Safi said.
Afghans who arrived in the U.S. as part of Operation Allies Welcome or Operation Allies Refuge can qualify for the mental health services.
St. Louis nonprofit to help Afghans recover from the trauma of conflict in their homeland
Posted from news.stlpublicradio.org
Afghanistan
Trauma
Mental Health
St. Louis
Refugees
Posted 1 y ago
Responses: 2
3
3
0
0
0
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Psychiatrists from St. Louis University Hospital will come to the organization’s facilities to offer services. Welcome Neighbor STL and the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis will provide additional social support services to Afghans.
The mental health services will be culturally sensitive to help Afghans feel emotionally and mentally safe, to make sure care does not cause clients to suffer additional anxiety, Safi said.
“They lived in Afghanistan … there was constant war or constant trauma,” he said. “Those folks have been through a lot of things.”
..."Psychiatrists from St. Louis University Hospital will come to the organization’s facilities to offer services. Welcome Neighbor STL and the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis will provide additional social support services to Afghans.
The mental health services will be culturally sensitive to help Afghans feel emotionally and mentally safe, to make sure care does not cause clients to suffer additional anxiety, Safi said.
“They lived in Afghanistan … there was constant war or constant trauma,” he said. “Those folks have been through a lot of things.”
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google