HIAS 2019 Annual Report

In Kenya and Colombia, HIAS organizes Community Well-Being
Committees that receive training on protection from abuse, stress
management, and healthy coping skills. These groups are then able to
respond to community priorities and to connect community members
with the support they need.
In Chad, a country facing escalating needs for community-based
support, HIAS collaborates with faith leaders to train them on
protection from abuse; coping with loss, stress, and grief; conflict
management; supporting survivors of gender-based violence, and
protecting women and girls. Faith leaders meet monthly with HIAS
staff for training on humanitarian principles, support techniques, and
responding to vulnerable individuals.
Support Groups, based on language, gender, and age-specific
groupings, are a powerful intervention designed to deliver communitybased
support. In convening these groups, HIAS implements the
World Health Organization’s PM+ initiative designed to help people
cope with adversity, reduce distress, and build resilience.
In Chad, HIAS implements PM+ with lay facilitators as HIAS
staff works with psychologists and other professionals to provide
supervision and consultation for the lay helpers. In Ecuador, social
workers and psychologists facilitate general supervision and support
to address mental health and psychosocial needs that respect local
healing practices. These support groups provide a safe forum for
mutual help and discussion. Group membership is based on common
identities, including survivors of violence, LGBTQ people, or people
with disabilities.
Referrals for individual or group-based support are another path
to addressing mental health needs, and HIAS ensures access to
care for all clients needing short-term mental health or psychosocial
interventions individually or in a group. In Ecuador, HIAS provides
HIAS Annual Report 2019
hias.org
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