CULVER CITY, Calif. July 14, 2015—Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services has received a $50,000 grant from Cedars-Sinai to provide mental health care for traumatized minors who recently immigrated to the U.S. and have nowhere else to turn for help. Cedars-Sinai established its mental health grant program in 2012 to support mental health nonprofits that provide direct care to underserved communities.
The grant allows Didi Hirsch to care for undocumented children who fled Mexico or Central America to escape abuse, gang and drug violence and entered the United States with little more than the address of a parent or relative. Many of these children were unaccompanied minors who experienced trauma, physical or sexual abuse, hunger and other hardships while crossing the border and now suffer from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions. Left untreated, these children are at risk for lifelong mental and physical health problems.
Didi Hirsch will seek referrals from schools, the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), which offers low-cost immigration legal services, and the Department of Children and Family Services. Therapy and support services for children and their caregivers will be provided by bilingual therapists at Didi Hirsch Metro, its clinic near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, or at their schools.
“Many children who survived their frightening journeys from Mexico and Central America keep their mental and physical traumas a secret because of stigma and fear,” says Carlos Garcia, Chair of the Board of Directors of Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services. “Thanks to Cedars-Sinai’s grant, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services can provide Spanish-speaking therapists to care for these uninsured Latino children so they can receive the treatment they need to heal.”
Cedars-Sinai’s community mental health grant-making program has contributed $3 million since 2012 to provide access to care for some of the most vulnerable members of the community. “Though deep partnerships with organizations like Didi Hirsch, our shared goal is that more people in need have access to quality mental healthcare,” says Jonathan Schreiber, director of Cedars-Sinai Community Engagement.
