Todo Por Mi Familia: Providing mental health services to families that were separated at the U.S. border
A career path with a deep connection
In November 2019, a federal court ordered the United States government to provide immediate mental health services to the thousands of families who were separated at the border under the Zero Tolerance Policy.
Seneca Family of Agencies, a nonprofit mental health agency with Bay Area roots, is leading Todo Por Mi Familia (“All For My Family”), the nationwide effort to connect these families with mental health assessments and treatment. But how do you build trust with families who were separated from their children, and who are still suffering from the effects of this trauma? Seneca’s Todo Por Mi Familia Outreach Coordinators have found a way — through compassion, persistence, and never-ending dedication.
A similar past
Meet Veronica, Outreach Coordinator for Todo Por Mi Familia at Seneca Family of Agencies. Like many of the asylum-seeking families Seneca is currently serving, Veronica and her family completed a perilous journey to this country when she was just 8 years old. Though Veronica was very young at this time, she still recalls the years of work for her family to overcome the adversity they faced after immigrating.
A beacon of hope
Now, through Todo Por Mi Familia, Veronica works daily to empower families that survived a similar journey to her own with an even more traumatic outcome — reaching their destination only to be separated from their loved ones. In desperation, Laura turned to Todo Por Mi Familia, and that’s where Veronica stepped in. Veronica spent several long days researching and calling every clinic she could uncover, and finally her persistence and expertise paid off. Veronica found an amazing center that was able to provide the family with free mental health services in Spanish. As soon as she passed this information along to Laura, Laura called the provider and set up an appointment — an empowering act toward recovery that would not have been possible without Veronica’s advocacy. The expansion of Laura’s resource network didn’t stop there. The clinic social worker connected Laura with a dentist, and offered additional services such as primary care, medication, and transportation. With their physical needs being met, Laura and her daughter were finally able to begin to heal.
Lasting impact & connection
Laura refers to Veronica as an “angel” who helped her at a time when the world seemed to be against her. A week after her initial appointment, Laura sent Veronica pictures of herself and her daughter when they were reunified. This is an image that makes all the hard work worthwhile to Veronica — she confides, “Trust me when I say I cried like a baby!” at seeing their joy. Although their work together is done, Laura and Veronica plan to meet in person when shelterin-place is lifted, and Laura continues to update Veronica on her progress. Connections like this one keep Veronica going during this daunting process — per the contract with the U.S. government, funding for Todo Por
Mi Familia gives Outreach Coordinators like Veronica until June 2021 to reach over 2,500 immigrant families that were separated at the border.
In the past two months, Seneca’s team has reached out to over 200 families, and has connected many of them with mental health services. Todo Por Mi Familia is a program that embodies Seneca’s vision of supporting children, and empowering families, and advocating for traditionally marginalized communities.
If like Veronica, you are looking for an opportunity to make a lasting difference for families in your community, consider a position at Seneca. With a nationally-recognized training center, Seneca hosts some of the most innovative and progressive trainers in the fields of trauma, attachment and children’s mental health. Seneca is seeking Spanish-english bilingual and bicultural staff to support many of our Bay Area counties. For more information about Seneca’s career opportunities, please visit our website at www.senecafoa.org and apply today! If you were separated from your children when you came to the United States and would like to connect to services through Todo Por Mi Familia, please feel free to call the hotline at (844) 529-3327 or info@todopormifamilia.org.