Celebrating World Mental Health Day: Voices from our community with HCN's Entre Nosotros Team

On World Mental Health Day, we shine a spotlight on the transformative power of culturally-rooted care through the eyes of our Entre Nosotros team.

Mental health isn't one-size-fits-all. For Latine families, healing happens when services honor their culture, language, and lived experiences.

This World Mental Health Day, we're celebrating not just mental wellness, but the revolutionary approach of Entre Nosotros (Within Us) – our supportive, holistic therapeutic community that centers Latine-identified and Spanish-speaking communities. This program fosters inclusive spaces for Latines to access and reclaim holistic healing practices that empower multicultural identities and values, proving that Latine wellness begins with promoting mental health practices through culturally rooted, trauma-informed, and community-based services.

What makes Entre Nosotros extraordinary isn't just what we do – it's who does it. Our team brings authentic connection to their work because many share similar journeys with the families they serve.

Genesis Vasquez, Program Therapist and day-one team member who created curriculum for newcomer support groups, explains her draw to HCN: "I loved working with Latine families. I could really see the impact on my clients and their families. I also loved that as a staff, I felt supported."

This authentic representation isn't coincidental – it's strategic. When staff share cultural backgrounds and often similar immigration experiences with clients, trust isn't something that needs to be built; it already exists.

Daniel Molina, Program Manager who started as an intern in 2019, was motivated by "the opportunity to practice therapy in my native tongue... as well as the strong emphasis to meet clients where they are at."

While providing services in Spanish is crucial, our team understands that true cultural competency goes deeper than translation.

Isela Gonzalez, Clinician-Group Facilitator, witnessed this firsthand: "These two kids were going at it being mean to one another until one started crying and shared how hard it was for him because he had no friends and just recently arrived to the US - the instigating kid sat next to him, apologized and hugged him and confessed how difficult it had been for him too and that he understood... We all share a similar journey."

Daniel reflects on community feedback: "The responses have been overwhelmingly positive, with almost everyone naming the fact that the service being provided in Spanish was incredibly healing for them."

Entre Nosotros doesn't just provide therapy – it creates community. Our approach mirrors the communal values deeply embedded in Latine culture, fostering connections that extend beyond individual sessions.

Genesis shares the impact: "With each group, we create community. We create a space they don't have somewhere else, a space where their thoughts, feelings, and experiences are validated and know they are not alone."

The results speak volumes. School social workers report decreased behavioral issues among participants. Shelter providers note positive changes in family dynamics. But perhaps most importantly, participants themselves describe feeling heard, understood, and connected.

Ivan Navarro, Case Manager, emphasizes the connection families feel: "They truly feel connected with our program and our team as well sharing similar struggles and upbringing stories. Its the little things like this that keep the families we serve engaged in our program and them handing us their trust to support them."

As we observe World Mental Health Day, Entre Nosotros represents a model for the future of mental health care. It proves that when organizations invest in authentic representation, cultural competency, and community-building approaches, the impact extends far beyond individual treatment outcomes.

Our team's words remind us that effective mental health care is about creating spaces where people feel truly seen, understood, and valued for who they are and where they come from.

The message is clear: mental health care works best when it feels like home, not healthcare.

This World Mental Health Day, we celebrate not just awareness, but action – the kind that happens when authentic voices lead authentic healing.

To learn more about Entre Nosotros and our culturally-responsive mental health services, visit us. If you're interested in supporting programs that prioritize cultural authenticity in mental health care, consider donating to support HCN.