The Behavioral Health Support Program

In August 2021, thousands of Afghans fled their homeland and watched in horror as the Taliban seized control of the capital. The unprecedented emergency evacuation during the fall of Kabul by U.S. forces led to tens of thousands of traumatized Afghans being evacuated into the United States and eventually housed in Safe Havens for processing. The successful implementation of Operation Allies Welcome allowed for our Afghan allies in Safe Havens to be processed, receive the appropriate medical and behavioral health services, and subsequently resettle across the United States.

The behavioral health and psychosocial needs of resettled Afghans, particularly now as they begin to integrate into American culture—working, socially adjusting, and attending school alongside Americans, have not diminished. In fact, we anticipate an increase in need for behavioral health services as disorders related to stress, acculturation, trauma, loss, and grief begin to surface.

As a follow up to Operation Allies Welcome, with funding from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, under the Afghan Appropriations Act, USCRI’s Refugee Health Services has developed a dynamic and multi-tiered behavioral health support services program aimed to mitigate resettlement challenges by expanding access to culturally and linguistically tailored, trauma-informed behavioral health services for resettled Afghan arrivals across the nation. The program is led by qualified professionals from the U.S. Afghan diaspora; in partnership with The Afghan Medical Professionals Association of America (AMPAA) and Rambo House.

Teaching children and youth about personal boundaries is the first step to personal safety. Children learn boundaries from the adults in their lives who model that behavior. Teaching personal safety requires adults, parents, and other caring adults to teach children appropriate personal and relationship boundaries, how to avoid problematic situations and how to protect themselves from violators whenever possible.

USCRI, in partnership with Rambo House Media, have set up a 24/7 national crisis hotline to support newly resettled Afghans. Counseling is provided on a need-to-need basis, and referrals to the appropriate services are provided immediately. Cases in need of emergency intervention will be flagged to the Crisis Response Team (CRT).

In partnership with AMPAA and Healis Health, USCRI operates a full-service telehealth platform, designed to enroll, assess, document, and serve Afghan Clients through culturally and linguistically appropriate services for both primary and psychosocial care. 

To access the Patient Referral Form, click here.

USCRI will have four on-site Behavioral Health (BH) teams in the following states: Texas, Washington (states with the highest number of resettled Afghans), Florida, and Pennsylvania (states with the highest need/underserved resettled Afghans). The BH teams will provide linguistically and culturally appropriate services by working within the local medical structures in each state to help address and support the needs of the Afghan populations. Direct support to local service providers will be through workshop trainings and technical assistance. 

USCRI’s crisis response team (CRT) is a multidisciplinary team equipped to provide immediate support to Afghan clients experiencing a behavioral health crisis. CRT will coordinate with individual state health systems to deliver direct clinical services, psychosocial support, and wellness initiatives for Afghans in need of immediate care and treatment.

To access the Patient Intake Form, click here.