Nationalities Service Center | Newcomer Liaison Program

In response to the urgent needs of newly arriving Afghan individuals and families, Nationalities Service Center, held the first cohort of the Wellness Liaison Training Program. The program is a 6-month immersive paid training program for immigrant individuals interested in developing behavioral health knowledge and community support skills. This is a bidirectional training that will offer skill building and professional development to participants as well as promote cultural understanding and professional development for immigrant serving therapists and service providers. The project goals included:

• • Developing Wellness Liaisons who can support their communities and can also serve as a bridge to external providers.
  • Creating a collaborative learning experience between Wellness Liaisons and behavioral health providers.
  • Supporting professional and career development of behavioral health specialists with lived experience and language capacity.
  • Educating non-immigrant behavioral health specialists through Wellness Liaison outreach and trainings.
  • Establishing a Wellness Liaison model that can be shared with other providers as well as replicated with other communities.