From Our Team

Helping Traumatized Individuals

Every day I think of the Cd. Juárez residents, (especially the children) who are experiencing levels of violence that are difficult for me to comprehend. As friends, family, and neighbors, we need to find ways to assist our sister city. The Paso del Norte Health Foundation is committed to finding creative strategies to help our border residents. Today, we are granting funds to organizations in El Paso and Juárez to work with victims of violence by training professionals to counsel traumatized individuals. Therapists on both sides of the border share with us stories of individual children and families who have witnessed the murder of their relatives and friends. It is difficult to imagine how these experiences are processed by children and what effect they can have on a child’s development. Treating children is an important step and requires specialized training that many therapists in our region currently do not have.

Besides treating families from Juárez who have fled to El Paso, professional therapists are being trained in El Paso to work with families of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The government is dedicated to providing post traumatic counseling to soldiers, but in many cases, equivalent services are not available for the children and spouses of the soldiers. While these families do not directly experience the violence of war, children and spouses often experience fear, anxiety, and confusion related to the symptoms and behavior of soldiers returned from deployment.

The Foundation is in contact with major social agencies dealing with trauma. As we gather additional information, be assured we will try to respond in appropriate ways. As is our usual practice, Foundation staff will be monitoring and evaluating the results of the grants.

Even if our funds help alleviate pain and anxiety for one child, our efforts will not be in vain.