Philadelphia has historically been a vital immigration portal and over the past two decades has become one of the central gateways for newcomers to the United States. Over 10% of the city’s entire population is foreign-born and 60% of these individuals arrived in the United States within the last 20 years. Between 2000 and 2006, metropolitan Philadelphia’s immigrant population increased by 29% making it one of the fastest growing immigrant gateways in the country[1].

In response to the growing statistics in Philadelphia, BuildaBridge is partnering with multiple refugee resettlement agencies and health providers in Philadelphia to provide art therapy services as part of the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative.  Funding for this collaborative was received by the Department of Behavioral Health & Intellectual Disability Services in early March 2011. The project will engage ethnic community resilience and cultural strengths to address flight and resettlement stressors that impact the success of refugee children and youth. The collaborative seeks to provide mental health screenings and education to refugee families within 30 days after arrival and to provide both formal and non-traditional services (creative arts therapy) as needed to prevent the stresses experienced by children and youth from negatively impacting future success. As a result of a lack of inter and intra-cultural understanding – on the part of both the mainstream population and among refugees – many behavioral and mental health problems go untreated, resulting in additional stress placed upon children and their families, and in some instances, abuse, neglect and the breaking apart of families themselves. In schools problems may go undetected, resulting in poor academic performance, truancy, participation in risky or illegal activities, or early attrition. The effects of limited refugee access to behavioral health services, regardless of the source of the misunderstanding, are disruptive, and potentially devastating, for individual children, their families, their communities, and the public institutions – educational, public welfare, and law enforcement – which serve the community at large. Failure to address these issues early poses long-term risks to refugee children in terms of their capacity to function as adults and the prospects for attaining social, emotional and economic stability.

In collaboration with the partners during the planning phase, BuildaBridge will facilitate community discussions about resiliency and adjustment that will lead to the identification of what needs the community is seeing among children, youth and families and what prevention activities the community feels are most appropriate. The findings from these discussions will lay the foundation for adjustment groups and classes for each ethnic group every month.  Classes will be led by BuildaBridge Creative Arts Therapists in the BuildaBridge Classroom model with input from the mental health providers of the collaborative and refugee resettlement agencies. 

Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative:

• Lutheran Children and Family Service (LCFS)
• Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and Council (HIAS)
• Nationalities Service Center (NSC)
• BuildaBridge International
• Nemours Pediatrics
• Belmont Behavioral Health Clinic