Refugee, Asylee, and Immigrant Services

Immigrants, refugees, and asylees come to the United States for many reasons. Specifically for refugees and asylees, it is usually due to fear or lack of safety from their communities or governments in their country of origin. Often, these populations experience significant trauma throughout the entire process of being in an unsafe environment to moving to a new country. These individuals often must leave family behind and to seek safety (physical, emotional, economic, etc.). For these reasons, it is vital to provide equitable access to resources to these communities.

Established in partnership with the Virginia Office of New Americans, this program aims for collaboration among key stakeholders, autonomy of local and regional mental health council affiliates, sustainability of mental health wellness and prevention programs, and education for equity and language access in behavioral health care.
DBHDS provides equitable services to these communities by reaching out to their immigrant/refugee/asylee communities. They have created campaigns that target these communities and help connect them to services in their language, including Arabic, Somali, and Spanish, to ensure their message reaches all their residents. DBHDS and their CSBs also created specific events specifically for these communities, such as their Refugee Youth and Family Opioid Response Camp and provide them with training and connection to services.

Here are a few resources for immigrant, refugees, and asylees in Virginia: