Brooklyn Nonprofits Tailor Mental Health Care To Their Immigrant Clients' Cultures

Several Louisville organizations are addressing mental health care accessibility for youth of color by offering therapy in community spaces like barbershops, libraries, and other familiar environments. This approach aims to reduce stigma and has also made mental health care more accessible by eliminating barriers such as cost and location. Many youths who had participated in the therapy programs reported feeling more open to discussing their mental health.

When choosing an industry to work in, cultural and familial pressures may play a role, especially around the field of mental health. When this proved true for a handful of international students at the University of Oregon, they joined together to form International Community Voices, a peer support group that addresses cultural barriers on college campuses.

Clinica Sierra Vista's Health Insurance Assistance Program helps uninsured and underinsured patients, many of them undocumented immigrants, navigate Medi-Cal enrollment and renewal, Covered California marketplace plans and the clinic's own sliding-fee scale program. In 2025, the program assisted 33,680 Kern County residents.

Nuci’s Space aims to prevent suicide by providing a safe space for people of all ages, particularly youth, to connect and play music. They also offer affordable practice spaces and mental and physical health care services for participants, including affordable counseling.

The Israeli Hug Center offers social support, group therapy, and robust programming for Israeli expats in New York City.

Albergue Assabil (the Shelter of the Path), by the Latina Muslim Foundation, is the first women-led Muslim shelter along the U.S.-Mexico border. It has been in operation since June 2022, providing a safe space for women migrants, supplying them with food, clothing, shelter and sanctuary regardless of their religious, social or cultural background. In the past two years, the shelter has helped about 3,000 migrant women.

“Chill Rooms,” offer students a place where they can go and talk to “chill therapists” when they’re feeling anxious, stressed or just need a minute to reset during the school day. Some schools have even partnered with other organizations to offer creative forms of mental health care, like equine therapy. In the Northgate School District, the graduation rate has increased by 11% since incorporating Chill Rooms.

The OmniSalud program provides zero-premium health care coverage to low-income immigrants without documentation, helping make health care more accessible for those who normally struggle to get it due to their legal status. This year, the program expanded to 11,000 slots and hopes to continue growing.

Immigrants Rising’s Mental Health Career Program helps undocumented state residents get into college and start careers as therapists and doctors. The Program’s goal is to increase the number of available undocumented therapists by making education easily accessible, thus creating more professionals who can better relate to other members of their community and provide more effective care.

Amongst an increased need for mental health care, Monadnock Family Services is offering group therapy to children to get them in for some level of care as staff shortages make offering individual therapy too difficult. The American Psychological Association found that group therapy is as effective as individual therapy for most conditions — as well as more efficient. Monadnock Family Services offers a variety of groups depending on a patient’s interests and identity, like groups for those who enjoy hiking to groups for members of the LGBTQ+ community.