Final Project- The Strategic Community Action Plan Project

Alivio

Nubia Ruiz
OGL: 350- Session B
Section: 41823
Dr. Kermit Brown
08/09/2023

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 Counseling and psychological services are crucial, yet unfortunately, they remain

some of the most difficult resources for society to access. The sad reality is that most

people have faced trauma at least once in their life and psychological treatments can

improve a person’s mental health. This is primarily true for immigrants and children of

immigrants. About 46% of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are uninsured

(KFF,2022). Most Americans have the luxury of health care or government assistance.

However, children of immigrants do not have the same access or they have a limited

version of it.

A common misconception is that only immigrant children develop mental health

issues stemming from their parent’s background and negative experiences. Children

born in the US also suffer from high rates of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress

disorder, and guilt (Policy Lab, 2022). These children require the most support because

they have less guidance due to their parent’s language or cultural backgrounds. In the

Latino community, mental health is seen as a weakness and not an illness. So, what

can these children do to succeed if all doors are closed?

Community-based programs can solve for much of these children’s needs. The

programs are accessible to children because they are in close proximity to schools and

neighborhoods familiar to them. Parents can also trust their children are safe in these

environments as they are minutes away from home. Additionally, these programs are

proven to improve children’s identity, self-regulation, and social and emotional well-

being (CDC, 2022). Still, there are very few available across the country, especially

focusing on mental health.

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 Alivio is a program that can support many of the mental-health challenges that

Spanish-speaking children of immigrants endure. Through counseling services for at-

risk children, the program will address trauma from the journey of leaving their home

country, separation of a parent, immigration detainment, and other associated traumas.

For children born in the US to immigrant parents, the program will support areas

addressing structural racism, poverty, stress, and higher education advising. To ensure

that Alivio impacts children early on in their development, the program will accept

children between the ages of 11-14.

For the first three years of the program, Alivio will be available at a center in the

area of South Los Angeles, California before expanding nationwide. Children that are

admitted will be enrolled in a 20-week after-school program. Within this timeframe, Alivio

will be in 2-hour sessions, 4 days per week. Once the first term of students culminates

from the program, new students will start the program. In total, 20 students will be

accepted each term. The selection process for eligible students will be made by

teachers of 5 local middle schools. The goal is for teachers to nominate their most at-

risk students. Through that partnership, Alivio has more chances of helping those most

in need.

As part of the program, children will have weekly one-on-one sessions with a

psychologist for two hours. During these sessions, students can open up and discuss

their personal struggles at home and school. Additionally, for 30 minutes of the program,

students can work on their homework and receive assistance if needed. It's important to

note that Alivio is not solely an after-school tutoring program. The primary goal of the

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program is to address mental health challenges and equip children with skills and

resources to thrive in their young adulthood and future endeavors.

Alivio will also introduce several methods to support creative thinking. These

include:

 Divergent thinking: The generation of many different ideas in a free-flowing,

unstructured manner. From the seed of a single starting point (or influence), a
multitude of connected ideas blossom rapidly. (Fingerprint for Success, 2023)

 Emotional intelligence: The ability to recognize emotions in yourself and others,

and act on them appropriately. These skills are key ingredients that facilitate
stronger relationships (both personal and professional) and ensure they have the
ability to run for the long haul. (Fingerprint for Success, 2023)

 Aikido conflict resolution: Principles of centered response, utilization of energy,

and nonresistant leading to be equally applicable in nonphysical conflict
resolution. (The Systems Thinker, 2018)

 SMART Goals: A structured goal you set with five key criteria that make sure it
gets done. These qualities, outlined by the SMART framework, are specificity,
measurability, achievability, relevance, and timeframe applicability. (Fingerprint
for Success, 2023)

 Career Skills & Advisement: Skill sets in communication, organization, ethics,

productivity, and responsibility.

 Finance management: Budgeting, savings, philanthropy, and paying for college.

Every year, more than two million undocumented immigrants dutifully pay federal

and state taxes, even though they don't receive the full benefits of their contributions.

Despite this, they persist in paying taxes to comply with the law and contribute over 2

billion dollars each year. Alivio can be fully funded across the country with only 1% of

those funds. This group can see their money back into their community and go towards

those they love.

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 References

Shoichet, C. (2023). Undocumented immigrants are paying their taxes today, too. CNN.
Retrieved from: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/18/us/undocumented-immigrants-taxes-
cec/index.html

KFF. (2022). Health Coverage and Care of Immigrants. Race Equality and Health
Policy. Retrieved from:
https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/fact-sheet/health-coverage-and-care-
of-immigrants/#:~:text=Uninsured%20Rates%20by%20Immigration
%20Status&text=uninsured%20than%20citizens.,Among%20the%20nonelderly
%20population%2C%20one%20in%20four%20(25%25)%20lawfully,of%20citizens
%20(Figure%203).

Palladino, L. (2022). Immigration Policy Remains a Key Issue for Children’s Health.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Retrieved from:
https://policylab.chop.edu/blog/immigration-policy-remains-key-issue-childrens-
health#:~:text=Investing%20in%20mental%20health%20services,and%20in%20many
%20cases%2C%20poverty.

Centers for Disease Control. (2022). Positive Youth Development. CDC. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/safe-supportive-environments/positive-youth-
development.htm#:~:text=Positive%20youth%20development%20programs
%20strengthen,%2C%20cognitive%2C%20and%20behavioral%20competence.

Fingerprint for Success. (2023) What is divergent thinking?. Productivity Tools.

Retrieved from:
https://www.fingerprintforsuccess.com/blog/divergent-thinking

Merrill. (2023). Tips for teaching children — of any age — financial responsibility.
Merrill-A Bank of America Company. Retrieved from:
https://www.merrilledge.com/article/teaching-kids-about-money-financial-responsibility

Ringer, J. (2018). Finding Balance: What Aikido Can Teach Us About Conflict. The
Systems Thinker. Retrieved from:
https://thesystemsthinker.com/%EF%BB%BFfinding-balance-what-aikido-can-teach-us-
about-conflict/