How one school is helping deaf immigrant children navigate trauma 

Lumen High School enrolls pregnant and parenting teens, providing a “learn-as-you-go” approach to learning that makes it possible for them to parent and stay in school. The school provides full-day child care, free baby supplies, mental health counseling and other supports to help get students to graduation day. All the Lumen High School students who graduate have been accepted into college, with 95% enrolling or choosing to start working within the six months after graduation.

The Fresno Center provides immigration services and culturally relevant mental health care to members of the Southeast Asian community. The Center provides therapy in native languages and works to destigmitize mental health in an effort to heal decades of generational trauma.

Super Special Parents, a Massachusetts WhatsApp group geared toward families in the Brazilian immigrant community, provides a virtual space for parents of children with disabilities to get support and guidance in their native language around everything from understanding special education laws to finding housing. The group counts about 500 participating families and nine dedicated volunteers.

"Healthy Mama, Healthy Pikin" is a youth-led nutrition program in Ebonyi State, Nigeria that layers nutrition education into routine immunization days at primary health care facilities. The program teaches parents how to enrich diets with local, affordable ingredients, distributes vegetable seeds for backyard gardens, and trains health workers to provide ongoing nutrition counseling, all in an effort to prevent child malnutrition. Since launching in November 2024, the program has reached over 300 parents and established backyard gardens in more than 100 households.

In California, the Community Justice Alliance created safe, youth-centered spaces focused on community-building and creative expression, including makeup artistry workshops and soccer meetups, to help immigrant youth arriving in the U.S. alone navigate feelings of isolation. These interventions aim to help teenagers build connections, reclaim their identities, and process difficult experiences in a supportive environment.

Free school meal programs help improve students’ health, support better academic performance and combat hunger and food insecurity. Several states have passed legislation to keep free meal plans active after federal waivers ran out in 2022. In Michigan alone in October 2023, the 3,459 school meal sites across the state served 10,064,686 free breakfasts and 17,659,809 free lunches.

Telehealth appointments make it easier for people with disabilities to access healthcare, including medication abortions, by allowing those in need to access care from the comfort of their own homes. For many people, this eliminates several access barriers they often face when seeking care. Post-Roe, medication abortion via telehealth visits accounts for 16% of all reported abortions.

The Heberthausen Asylum Support Group helps incoming migrants and refugees find housing, jobs and learn the German language to integrate with society and work towards citizenship.

The Kupalinka theater school is a space for adult and children refugees from Belarus and Ukraine to gather to learn how to run a theater and perform for the community. Theater classes help keep the culture and native languages of their homelands alive. The theater also provides a safe space for fun, creativity and connection, helping refugees manage the stress and grief of fleeing home.

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.