- J
I really want to say thank to those of you who gave funds to my first two trips. This photo above is one of the times I was able to do some EMDR trauma treatment with kids after detention while they were waiting for their asylum hearings in Texas. EMDR is capable of rapidly treating unprocessed memories of adverse experiences. It significantly reduces symptoms associated with acute stress disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. It also helps to increase a person's confidence in his/her own ability to heal from scary events. This kids and their mom were open to this work and they seemed to benefit both immediately afterward and in the immediate days afterward. I worked with them a few times within a period of 4 to 5 days.
I want to inspire all of us to keep our immigrant and refugee family members plight in the forefront and to give what aid we can. It is truly alarming how people who are fleeing violence are treated at our borders. I am going again in February 2020 and this time we are going to the camps in Metamoros as currently they are being stopped before entering the U.S..
Julie Small from KQED came with us last January. She gathered information and she documented specific allegations. She shared the story for the California Report Magazine and on PRI the World - the story is called “SF Therapists Help Migrant Families Cope with Trauma”. We were bringing some attention to the situation on a larger stage and it really felt good.
The links to the reports are below. https://www.kqed.org/news/11721246/san-francisco-therapists-help-migrant-families-cope-with-trauma
https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-02-06/therapists-help-migrants-san-antonio-through-trauma-after-detention
Here is my first post on FB in early January. “I’m in Texas…the stories I am hearing are so much worse than I anticipated. Both what they are escaping from and what they have thus faced along the way. The families I am seeing do not want to be seeking asylum. They are forced to leave their homes. It’s a dreadful journey from Central America and there is little comfort when they do cross the border--- through rivers, tunnels, climbing trees and fences. They risk their lives and their children’s lives to seek safety. It feels very intense and emotional to be around so many traumatized people but I am grateful to be here knowing what is happening and now I’m compelled to do something about it. Stories from the border:
"I was so inspired by the families going through this incredibly complicated and scary process. So often the moms and dads were so gentle with their kids, despite all they had been through. I saw people helping each other such as a mom watching another mom’s kids when she went to the bathroom. I was really moved to see the kindness around me at the bus station. In a way, the bus station felt at times like a transient community. Buzzing around security guards, volunteers, employees, families, the T Mobile employees, the pizza delivery person, all shared concern. We all seemed touched by the plight of these families seeking safety. We shared a sense of urgency and wanting to help. There were lots of sick moms, dads and children and people seemed to care. When I look back, just sharing in these efforts with so many compassionate humans, was so deeply humanizing to me."
I want to inspire all of us to keep our immigrant and refugee family members plight in the forefront and to give what aid we can. It is truly alarming how people who are fleeing violence are treated at our borders. I am going again in February 2020 and this time we are going to the camps in Metamoros as currently they are being stopped before entering the U.S..
Julie Small from KQED came with us last January. She gathered information and she documented specific allegations. She shared the story for the California Report Magazine and on PRI the World - the story is called “SF Therapists Help Migrant Families Cope with Trauma”. We were bringing some attention to the situation on a larger stage and it really felt good.
The links to the reports are below. https://www.kqed.org/news/11721246/san-francisco-therapists-help-migrant-families-cope-with-trauma
https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-02-06/therapists-help-migrants-san-antonio-through-trauma-after-detention
Here is my first post on FB in early January. “I’m in Texas…the stories I am hearing are so much worse than I anticipated. Both what they are escaping from and what they have thus faced along the way. The families I am seeing do not want to be seeking asylum. They are forced to leave their homes. It’s a dreadful journey from Central America and there is little comfort when they do cross the border--- through rivers, tunnels, climbing trees and fences. They risk their lives and their children’s lives to seek safety. It feels very intense and emotional to be around so many traumatized people but I am grateful to be here knowing what is happening and now I’m compelled to do something about it. Stories from the border:
"I was so inspired by the families going through this incredibly complicated and scary process. So often the moms and dads were so gentle with their kids, despite all they had been through. I saw people helping each other such as a mom watching another mom’s kids when she went to the bathroom. I was really moved to see the kindness around me at the bus station. In a way, the bus station felt at times like a transient community. Buzzing around security guards, volunteers, employees, families, the T Mobile employees, the pizza delivery person, all shared concern. We all seemed touched by the plight of these families seeking safety. We shared a sense of urgency and wanting to help. There were lots of sick moms, dads and children and people seemed to care. When I look back, just sharing in these efforts with so many compassionate humans, was so deeply humanizing to me."