Project for Healing offers refugees and immigrants living in Northeast Florida individual and family counseling, immigration evaluations, behavioral case management, psychiatric support services, medication management, specialized referrals and barrier reduction services. Therapists are specially trained in global mental health care to serve populations from all over the world currently living in Jacksonville. Collaborative efforts between the refugee resettlement agencies, Catholic Charities, and Lutheran Social Services, as well as the Duval County Health Department, UF Health and Mental Health Resource Center, provide wrap around care with the aim of clients becoming healthy and happy for successful integration into our community.
Confidential interpretation provided free of charge.
Multicultural Counseling
Lives are rebuilt by providing evidenced based mental health treatment with a focus on cultural awareness and sensitivity. Hope is restored through healing wounds of trauma and torture so clients can move forward to productive, peaceful lives.
Psychiatric Support Services
Accompanying refugee clients to the psychiatrist helps maintain a continuum of care leading to overall emotional health. Clients are provided psychoeducation on the importance of medication and compliance, medication management, assistance overcoming barriers to outpatient psychiatric care, support during discharge planning if hospitalized and long term follow-up care to help break the cycle of repeated hospital admissions.
Legal
Refugees and immigrants who have suffered physical or developmental disability or mental impairment are eligible to request an exemption to the English and civics testing requirements for naturalization. Our therapists work in conjunction with the refugee’s medical provider and immigration attorneys to assist in the completion of the USCIS N648 Medical Certification for Disability Exemptions evaluation according to USCIS specifications.
Barrier Reduction
Barriers to mental health can be a preexisting condition with the refugee and immigrant populations leading to a lack of access to services. Barriers such as limited knowledge, fear, and uncertainty potentially keep refugees unhealthy and unsuccessfully integrated into communities. Steps to reduce barriers such as exposure to pharmacies to refill medications or helping clients learn to communicate on their smart phones brings down the walls to isolation and increases mental well-being.
Behavioral Case Management
Behavioral Case Managers are part of the multi-disciplinary team approach utilized to provide wrap around care from case open to close. Services include psychoeducation, barrier reduction, specialized referrals, and community engagement support.
Help Them Heal
Refugee therapy is grant funded, but only covers a limited number of refugees per month and NO funding for immigrants. With the expected increase in new arrivals especially Afghan families, we need your help to provide services to these individuals. Your support can help them heal.
Our Team
Chelsea Stewart
Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Ja Seng Brim
Care Administrator
Kristin Van Bever
Mental Health Intern
A from Sudan
S from Sudan
“You helped me feel confident and to love myself again. I learned that my past does not define who I am."
J from Cuba
"The skills that I learned in therapy were helpful but it was your heart that helped me heal."
"Talking to you has helped me realize that I need to heal my past pain in order to be happy now."
A from Moldova
Project For Healing is funded by the Department of Health's Refugee Health Program and The Partnership: For Mental Health.
About The Partnership: For Mental Health
The Partnership: For Mental Health is a project of Baptist Health and the Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Fund at The Community Foundation of Northeast Florida. The intention of this innovative project, recommended by Delores Barr Weaver, is to encourage joint learning and make strategic grants to strengthen and improve access to the system that provides mental and behavioral health care in Northeast Florida. The fund will consider proposals made by 501c3 nonprofit organizations throughout the year that address direct service, advocacy, awareness, training and more. For more information about The Partnership: For Mental Health, see https://www.jaxcf.org/receive/how-to-apply#partnershipmentalhealth.