The Need for Mental Health Resources in Migrant Farm Working Families

Abstract

The focus of my capstone project is on providing mental health resources for migrant workers and their families. Language barriers and cultural differences are a big obstacle for these parents. Because of this, it is hard for parents to seek help. Language barriers can make communicating one’s struggles with healthcare providers difficult. These topics can be difficult for anyone to put into words, but it’s especially challenging for those who may not speak the same language as the healthcare professional. Per my experience cultural and language barriers are a big obstacle these families face. This could be because they can often face discrimination, they are scared of there’re legal status and they lack the support of their family. My main focus for this capstone is to provide services and support mental health within the immigrant community. There is a need for delivering mental health information and resources to migrant farmworkers and show them positive coping skills so they can better their mental health. To help inform migrant farm working families about mental health disorders and resources around their community that are free for everyone. Due to this I created a one-hour workshop at a MSHS in Salinas, CA that caters to migrant seasonal farm worker families who have preschool age children