Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants (CERI) - Approved

• Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants (CERI) is a nonprofit organization based in Oakland that provides culturally-relevant mental health and other social services. They are dedicated to transforming the lives of refugees and immigrants and their families, many of whom suffer from weakening intergenerational relationships, layers of complex needs, and exposure to violence and trauma both in their current environments and in their native countries.
• • Owner
    Mrinalini Narayan
  • Created On
    12-14-2020
  • Updated On
    01-25-2021
  • Update Reminder
    N/A

• How To Contact

  • Name
    CERI General Contact
  • Phone
    (510) 444-1671 x
  • Fax
    N/A
  • Email
    info@cerieastbay.org
  • Address
    544 International Blvd, Suite 9
  • City
    Oakland
  • State
    CA

• More Information

  • Start Date
    10-14-2020
  • Expiration Date
    N/A
  • Eligibility
    free
  • Fee
    0.00
  • Organization
    Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants (CERI)
  • Zip Code
    94606

• Helpful Links

  • CERI Programs
    https://www.cerieastbay.org/adult-and-older-adult
  • Anti-Deportation Advocacy
    https://www.cerieastbay.org/antideportation-background

• Detailed Information

  • ADULT AND OLDER ADULT

    
    

    Support Groups: 

    CERI offers a range of culturally-grounded support groups to its clients that emphasize self-expression, body awareness, and connecting to a peer support network. Currently, the majority of our clients are enrolled in the following weekly/biweekly groups: Stress Reduction & Meditation group, Movement/Dance group, Yoga and deep relaxation group, Men’s expressive arts & ESL groups, Women’s self-expression group using visualization and dream work, knitting and sewing, painting, jewelry making and cooking.
    

    
    Clinical Counseling:

    Trauma-informed therapy is offered to individual clients, couples and families. Services are culturally relevant and can be either short- or long-term, depending on the level of need. Modalities include humanistic client-centered therapy, trauma-informed CBT, drama therapy, EMDR, and mindfulness. Services are provided in the preferred languages of our clients, with the assistance of interpreters when needed.

    
    Medication:

    For clients who require psycho-tropic medication, the agency offers a monthly psychiatric clinic that offers psychiatric evaluation and medication management on site with the assistance of an interpreter.
    

    
    Alternative Healing: 

    Through community partners, CERI clients also receive free alternative healing (restorative yoga, acupuncture, coining, chanting, gardening, cooking, fishing etc.) to help support their mental and physical health. Our alternative healing fluctuates based on clients needs.

    
    

    YOUTH PROGRAMS:

    Reviving Our Youths’ Aspirations (ROYA) was created to promote resiliency, help youth develop their full potentials, and train our future leaders. The ROYA program helps these youth build their self-esteem and confidence, develop more effective communication and coping skills, and repair family relationships. Participating youth also learn to set goals and get the individualized support they need to stay in school, finish high school or get their GED, enroll in college, and, ultimately, become productive citizens and community leaders.

    Our prevention and early intervention program focuses on reducing involvement in crime and gangs, drug and alcohol abuse, student dropouts, teen pregnancy and sexual exploitation. ROYA provides at-risk children and youth with individual and group counseling, case management, mentoring, tutoring, job readiness, housing, and other support services, in conjunction with family counseling and parent education.

    YOUNG MOTHERS:

    
    

    The ROYA Young Mothers Program addresses the complex needs of young parents (ages 16-24) from highly-traumatized and isolated refugee and immigrant families. The program includes:

    • Full time case management. Weekly individual therapy sessions.

    • A weekly mother and child bonding program.

    • A weekly mother’s support group with children playdates. Regular outdoor and nature outings.

    • Regular educational workshops (including family planning, nutrition, pregnancy, breast feeding, food safety and encouraging positive communication).

    
    

    ANTI DEPORTATION ADVOCACY:

    Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants provides mental health services and support for Southeast Asian individuals and families who are impacted by impending deportation or issues with immigration. These services included: 

    Support System for Families: CERI has introduced a new support feature for impacted family families. CERI holds family nights where parents and couples can get individual , family therapy and group support while their children engage in play therapy.

    Anti-deportation and support: Through CERI’s recent anti-deportation work, CERI’s adult and older adult clients have been empowered to learn their rights and play a role in protecting their families and community. CERI provide emotional support services for families facing the possible deportation of a loved one. CERI also prepared psychological evaluations for the four CERI community members targeted,  for use in pleading their court case. 

    Civic education and advocacy: The anti-deportation work is part of a larger effort within CERI to provide civic education, information, and advocacy training for its clients to help them move from isolation to engagement in issues affecting their community. In response to proposed government cutbacks in food stamps, for example, CERI has helped clients, who are all SSI recipients, to register with CalFresh, in order to feed their families. CERI has also worked with clients to help them to register to vote, understand the ballot, and educate themselves about their rights in American society. This is particularly important for these clients, as under the Khmer Rouge regime, they did not have any rights or freedom of expression and taking a stand could lead to imprisonment, torture, or death for them and their family. 

    Right to unite, mental health outreach: This program will be launched in 2021 and will identify key partners on the ground in Cambodia and connect with impacted community members. We believe that community members that have been unjustly deported are experts of their lived experiences and may understand what they may need to heal, we are here as guides and as the infrastructure of support as they embark on this journey.  We will connect with mental health facilities in Cambodia that work with a similar framework of Sanctuary, Humanistic and Strength-Based models. We hope to meet these organizations and providers to offer a series of trainings so they can better understand this impacted community and their unique experiences and traumas.

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• Eligibility Information

  • States
    • CA
  • Counties
    • Alameda County
  • Cities
  • Zipcodes
  • School Districts
  • Age Groups
    • All Age Groups
  • Languages Served
  • Family Incomes
  • Insurance Providers

• Files