Healing Trauma with Refugee Youth

Kanley Souet-Pich was familiar with the struggles of refugees as a young mother living in Oakland in 2019. Born in the U.S., she is the daughter of Cambodian refugees who survived the horrors of the Khmer Rouge genocide. She experienced the lasting emotional and economic obstacles her family faced as a result of trauma, poverty, and resettling.  

What Kanley and her five children never expected to face was their own nightmare when her husband was arrested by I.C.E. for a non-violent crime he committed decades earlier, for which he had already served time. I.C.E. threatened to deport him to Cambodia, a country he hadn’t seen since he was six years old.

She and her children turned to the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants (CERI) for help. Founded in 2006, the Oakland-based nonprofit’s mission is to improve  the social, emotional, physical, psychological, and economic health of refugees and immigrants through culturally relevant mental health and other services.

On behalf of Kanley and her five children, CERI staff jumped into action, helping with lobbying, petitions, and rallies, to aid in freeing her husband. Her children were warmly welcomed into CERI’s community and found comfort in CERI’s youth programming. CERI’s youth services program is built on the premise that trauma is intergenerational.

“CERI is an organization that is here for the long haul,” says Dr. Mona Afary, CERI’s executive director and founder. “We are building a healthy community and helping people understand their trauma through our collective intergenerational work.”

CERI’s youth programs are designed to promote resiliency, build self-esteem, and help youth develop coping skills through a range of programs that include art, individual and group therapy, case management, mentoring, and camping trips. Based on CERI’s evaluations, 75% of youth participants reported improved grades, stronger friendships, and a reduction in use of drugs.

“If my five children did not go through the youth programs with CERI, we would be in a very different place in our family,” Kanley says. 

For adult immigrants and refugees, CERI offers a wealth of services, support, and community. The organization serves refugees and immigrants from over 12 countries and is still expanding as they welcome newly-arrived Afghan refugees. CERI provides: counseling, family support groups, workforce development, food and rental assistance, vaccination outreach, field trips, and a community garden project.

For Kanley, CERI was a lifesaver. They helped bring her husband home, helped him obtain citizenship, and kept her children safe and centered. CERI staff saw her commitment and passion to serve her community, and Kanley was asked to join CERI’s staff as an Outreach Worker.