In 2018 the news broke of families being separated from each other at the US border. We worked with partner organisations on the ground to #KeepFamiliesTogether.
In 2018, news broke of the forced separation of more than 2,600 migrant children from their parents at the US/Mexico border. The subsequent placement of many of these children in detention centers compounded the trauma experienced in their home countries, on the way to the border and during separation.
Lumos USA worked with partner organisations in the US and Guatemala to provide social and medical support to children and their families, deliver trauma services, and safely reunify children with their families.
Partnering with the American Bar Association (ABA), Lumos helped integrate trauma-informed social work practices into the ABA’s Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR) initiative, which provides legal services to asylum seeking adults and children in detention centers in South Texas.
Lumos funded the recruitment of a senior social worker and a bilingual clinical social worker to support separated families during detention and upon release. The senior social worker led the second in a series of training sessions on psychosocial care attended by 60 employees from across ProBAR’s Legal Services, Shelter Services and Release Services teams.
Lumos also established a medical fund and a social support fund to help Immigrant Families Together (IFT), a grassroots volunteer organisation supporting separated families.
Eighteen children received medical or mental health services under the medical fund and 43 families have benefitted from the social support fund, with services ranging from legal counsel to transportation to be reunited with family members.
Lumos also funded the recruitment of an experienced social work strategist in Charlotte (North Carolina) and two bilingual Social Work Assistants in Charlotte and New York City. The social work strategist developed guidance resources for families to use to help their children recover from trauma. She also helped co-ordinate IFT's volunteer 'triage' teams, assisting around 100 families.
Lumos partnered with the International Social Service USA (ISS-USA) to recruit and train a small team of Guatemalan social workers. Following referrals from US partners, the team actively traced families, conducted pre-arrival assessments of family and community environments and developed individualised service plans for each child to ensure they could safely return home and that their families receive the specific support they require.
Five families received intensive case management under the project and further case referrals continue to be received from local community groups, NGOs, national authorities and lawyers.
Working with the New York Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, we published On the Frontlines of the Family Separation Crisis, a report featuring case studies from 4 cities highlighting efforts by local governments, NGOs and grassroots groups to support families affected by separation and detention.
Drawing upon Lumos’ international experience, the report outlined best practices to reunify and strengthen families. Upcoming publications include a financial analysis of family immigration detention and a booklet for parents and children who have been affected by trauma stemming from separation, detention or adversity in their country of origin.
