Support Community Mental Health

Resources and Publications

• Needs Assessment: Wellbeing of Asylum Seekers in New York City and the Washington, D.C. Area

  This assessment aimed to explore the needs of asylum seekers in New York City and the greater Washington, D.C. area, with an emphasis on social services, and particularly mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS). Through documenting existing services, needs, and opportunities, HIAS aimed to determine whether and how HIAS could add value through programming, partnership, and advocacy.

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• Ensuring equity in mental health and psychosocial support during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

  In collaboration with academic partners and peer organizations, HIAS staff published an article describing strategies to ensure the centrality of equity when adapting mental health and psychosocial supports to meet COVID-19 requirements. The article also provides recommendations for ensuring the continuity of these innovations afterwards.

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• Interpersonal Counseling for Displaced People Living in Peru during COVID-19 Pandemic

  In Peru, HIAS partnered with Columbia University and UNHCR to carry out a study of how to adapt a psychological intervention to a COVID-19-affected setting, where remote delivery was necessary. The study also tested a shortened approach that was designed to better fit the needs of mobile populations. This work can help humanitarian organizations to better adapt care to settings marked by crisis and disruption and to better evaluate their efforts to do so. 

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• Evaluation of a Group Psychosocial Intervention for Displaced Women in Ecuador and Panamá

  In Ecuador and Panama, HIAS carried out a multi-phase study to better understand, prioritize, and address the psychosocial needs of displaced women and their host communities. HIAS staff developed a five-session MHPSS and protection intervention in collaboration with community representatives. The intervention, called Entre Nosotras, was designed to be delivered by trained community members. HIAS staff tested two versions of the intervention in partnership with University of Copenhagen, Columbia University, and others.

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• Forgotten Crises: Displacement in Latin America

  In Latin America, millions of people experience displacement — including many from Venezuela. This fact sheet considers the impact of this displacement and details HIAS' response to the crisis.

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• Forgotten Crises: Displacement from Sudan to Eastern Chad

  Since April 2023, conflict in Sudan has killed tens of thousands and caused almost 2 million more to flee elsewhere for safety. This fact sheet examines the humanitarian impact of Sudan's violence on neighboring Chad and details HIAS' response to the crisis.

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• 18 Months Later: A Mental Health and Psychosocial Needs Assessment Across Ukraine

  HIAS and Girls collaborated on a nation-wide mental health and psychosocial needs assessment undertaken between July and August 2023. The report reassesses the impact of this conflict on the population’s mental well-being and psychosocial needs today to help address new gaps in services and provide support that is context-relevant and informed by the targeted population.

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• Children and Families MHPSS Resource Collection

  The Children and Families MHPSS Resource Collection offers access to a wide range of key materials that are relevant to mental health and psychosocial support work with children and families across humanitarian and development settings. HIAS has partnered with the MHPSS Collaborative and MHPSS.net to provide resources to MHPSS practitioners responding to the crisis in Ukraine.

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• Evaluating the Feasibility of a Group Psychosocial Intervention for Displaced Women in Ecuador and Panamá

  This study will evaluate the appropriateness, acceptability, feasibility, and safety of intervention and research procedures for a cluster randomized comparative effectiveness trial conducted in Ecuador and Panamá with migrant and host community women.

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• Community-Based Participatory Design of a Psychosocial Intervention for Migrant Women in Ecuador and Panama

  This paper describes a community-based participatory approach to MHPSS intervention design incorporating processes to promote local adaptability and fit while maintaining standardized elements of existing MHPSS interventions.

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• Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Curriculum

  The HIAS MHPSS curriculum offers a teaching curriculum to implement community-based support groups for refugees, newcomers and immigrants. This curriculum offers nine sessions with scripts, resources, and activities for skilled facilitators to promote healing, connection, and support.

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