Therapeutic Space for Refugee Kids
Donation protected
Dear friends and family,
Project Safe Space is a mental health program at Bilingual International Assistant Services that offers trauma informed mental health services for immigrant and refugee youth in the Saint Louis area. We provide individual and group therapy in schools and hope to support the healing and success of newcomers to our community. As a therapist with this program, I am writing to you today to ask for your help with creating the best space possible to foster healing for the kids we work with. The welcome school where we provide the vast majority of our services brings in newly resettled and arriving immigrants and refugees every month. These students may come from areas such as Syria, Iraq, Somalia, the Congo, or Central America. Regardless of where they came from, they are referred to Project Safe Space because they have likely experienced trauma in their past. Many have lost best friends, members of their families. All of them have lost their homes and the material possessions that have brought them joy in life. Our therapists are specialized in helping them to heal and funding for our program goes directly towards hiring competent staff and direct service provision.
We have recently been provided a new classroom in the school to turn into an office to provide therapy, but there is much that we would like to do to create a therapeutic space that Is trauma sensitive and will be a place where students actually want to come for the difficult task of healing. Our therapists have learned that it is not always sustainable to pay for equipment etc. out of our own pockets, and as we expand, we need your help. Please consider donating to help create a therapeutic room for our newcomers. While a space might not seem that important, when you have left everything behind, a warm and welcoming environment is everything, and I hope that you will consider helping me to build one for these amazing new members of our community.
Funds raised will be used to purchase furniture, dividers, comfy sitting areas, soft lighting, rugs, and other theraputic tools to be used at Nahed Chapman New American Academy in Saint Louis, MO. Please note that anything over the cost of materials for the new space will go towards buying equipment to be used by therapists directly with students. I also promise to share before and after shots!
***To meet Go Fund Me's requirement on knowing that I am not ripping off Syrian refugees, here is a bit more infomation about me *** My name is Kelly McBride,MA, PLPC. I direct and am the lead therapist for Project Safe Space with Bilingual International Assistant Services at 1329 Macklind Ave. Saint Louis, MO 63110. I have served as a mental health theapist for approximately 70 students at this particular school (Nahed Chapman New American Academy) over the past two years, and for approximately 200 individuals and families in the immigrant and refugee community over the years in Saint Louis (maybe more- I dont really keep count). I am the primary mental health therapist in Nahed Chapman New American Academy for Project Safe Space and also serve as their Trauma-Informed Consultant. I work directly with those who these funds will impact. I know the children, I know the families, I know the teachers, I know the school staff. They are an extension of me, and I consider them to be family. All money raised will be taken from Go Fund Me will be withdrawn and deposited first with Bilingual International (a 501 (c)(3)), who will later reimburse me for materials that I will first purchase out of pocket from IKEA, Target, Amazon, and Resale Shops. Purchased materials will lovingly brought up to Nahed Chapman New American Academy by a small army of friends and co-workers who will be roped into carrying and constructing what I hope is a magical and warm environment to serve as a safe healing space, and also an example to those in the school and community of what a trauma-sensitive environment can look like.
Those who donate will recieve a tax letter in the mail infused with my gratitude. :) For more information about Project Safe Space and Bilingual International, please visit: http://www.bilingualstl.org
Project Safe Space is a mental health program at Bilingual International Assistant Services that offers trauma informed mental health services for immigrant and refugee youth in the Saint Louis area. We provide individual and group therapy in schools and hope to support the healing and success of newcomers to our community. As a therapist with this program, I am writing to you today to ask for your help with creating the best space possible to foster healing for the kids we work with. The welcome school where we provide the vast majority of our services brings in newly resettled and arriving immigrants and refugees every month. These students may come from areas such as Syria, Iraq, Somalia, the Congo, or Central America. Regardless of where they came from, they are referred to Project Safe Space because they have likely experienced trauma in their past. Many have lost best friends, members of their families. All of them have lost their homes and the material possessions that have brought them joy in life. Our therapists are specialized in helping them to heal and funding for our program goes directly towards hiring competent staff and direct service provision.
We have recently been provided a new classroom in the school to turn into an office to provide therapy, but there is much that we would like to do to create a therapeutic space that Is trauma sensitive and will be a place where students actually want to come for the difficult task of healing. Our therapists have learned that it is not always sustainable to pay for equipment etc. out of our own pockets, and as we expand, we need your help. Please consider donating to help create a therapeutic room for our newcomers. While a space might not seem that important, when you have left everything behind, a warm and welcoming environment is everything, and I hope that you will consider helping me to build one for these amazing new members of our community.
Funds raised will be used to purchase furniture, dividers, comfy sitting areas, soft lighting, rugs, and other theraputic tools to be used at Nahed Chapman New American Academy in Saint Louis, MO. Please note that anything over the cost of materials for the new space will go towards buying equipment to be used by therapists directly with students. I also promise to share before and after shots!
***To meet Go Fund Me's requirement on knowing that I am not ripping off Syrian refugees, here is a bit more infomation about me *** My name is Kelly McBride,MA, PLPC. I direct and am the lead therapist for Project Safe Space with Bilingual International Assistant Services at 1329 Macklind Ave. Saint Louis, MO 63110. I have served as a mental health theapist for approximately 70 students at this particular school (Nahed Chapman New American Academy) over the past two years, and for approximately 200 individuals and families in the immigrant and refugee community over the years in Saint Louis (maybe more- I dont really keep count). I am the primary mental health therapist in Nahed Chapman New American Academy for Project Safe Space and also serve as their Trauma-Informed Consultant. I work directly with those who these funds will impact. I know the children, I know the families, I know the teachers, I know the school staff. They are an extension of me, and I consider them to be family. All money raised will be taken from Go Fund Me will be withdrawn and deposited first with Bilingual International (a 501 (c)(3)), who will later reimburse me for materials that I will first purchase out of pocket from IKEA, Target, Amazon, and Resale Shops. Purchased materials will lovingly brought up to Nahed Chapman New American Academy by a small army of friends and co-workers who will be roped into carrying and constructing what I hope is a magical and warm environment to serve as a safe healing space, and also an example to those in the school and community of what a trauma-sensitive environment can look like.
Those who donate will recieve a tax letter in the mail infused with my gratitude. :) For more information about Project Safe Space and Bilingual International, please visit: http://www.bilingualstl.org
Organizer and beneficiary
Kelly McBride
Organizer
St Louis, MO
Jason Baker
Beneficiary
