The Immigrants of Florida: Advocacy Methods

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This paper is aimed at discussing the experiences of the immigrant population living in the rural areas of Florida. In particular, it is necessary to show how mental health counselors can assist these people. One should note that the majority of these individuals come from Latin American countries. However, a significant proportion of these people come from other region such as Southeast Asia. These people can be employed in different sectors of the economy such as farming, healthcare service, construction, and other industries.

Advocacy Methods

One should mention that these people can face several challenges. Some of them are not the citizens of the United States. As a result, they do not always have access to healthcare. It is possible to apply several advocacy methods. At first, one should speak about public campaigns in the social media that can attract peoples attention to the challenges faced by these stakeholders. The residents of Florida should understand that many immigrants do not have access to mental health counseling.

The main advantage of this method is that it can increase the awareness of many stakeholders as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, it does not necessarily lead in the changes of healthcare practices. Furthermore, it is possible to mention the creation of workgroups formed healthcare workers who should identify the strategies which are needed to help foreign-born population. The main benefit of this approach is that it can lead to development of new strategies.

Nevertheless, this advocacy method may not bring changes to the agenda of politicians and regulators. Finally, it is possible to mention public demonstrations. The main strength of this strategy is that it can affect the attitudes and decisions of legislators. However, this advocacy process requires the mobilization of many participants. These methods have been selected because they can be used together to promote the interests of the immigrant community.

Identify Institutional and Social Barriers

There are several barriers that these people have to overcome. The main problem is that many of them do not have access to healthcare services, because they do not have citizenship status (Weist, Evans, & Lever, 2007, p. 180). As a result, they cannot easily find assistance of metal health counselors working in various medical institutions. Additionally, one should not forget about the impact of linguistic and cultural barriers that prevent them integrating into the society.

Analyze the Impact of Local, State, and National Public Policies on the Quality and Accessibility of Clinical Mental Health Services

The accessibility of clinical mental health service has been affected primarily by the adoption of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (National Immigration Law Center, 2010). This law covers some of the costs related to mental health services. At the local level, this issue is shaped by non-governmental and charity organizations that try to assist people whose income level is not very high.

Identify Advocacy Strategies for Diverse Populations

It is possible to apply the following family strategies that can support the immigrant population living in the rural parts of Florida. For instance, one can apply the approach known as the strategic family therapy. It includes such interventions as re-framing which helps people change their views on some of the main problems that affect their mental health.

Secondly, it is possible to mention the use of intergenerational family therapy. This approach can assist young people in integrating in the community. Moreover, this method can enable immigrants to reconcile their cultural values. Finally, clinical counselors should make sure that immigrant families are not affected by domestic abuse. Therefore, it is important to create centers assisting the victims of violence. This is one of the problems affecting many immigrant families. The counselors, who will help such households, should know about the cultural background of families as well as their beliefs, values, and attitudes. The combined use of these strategies can be important for addressing such problems as depression, domestic abuse, and culture shock. This is why they have been selected.

Apply Strategies to Promote Client Understanding and Access to Community Resources

It is possible to apply several strategies that can improve the understanding and awareness of clients. For instance, one can distribute leaflets which tell foreign-born people about the services that they can receive. The information should be presented in different languages such as English, Spanish, Portuguese as well as Chinese. These people should learn about the community resources that can benefit them. For instance, they can learn more about the following organizations:

Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida

This organization provides religion-based counseling. It supports people who cannot afford the services of a mental health counselor. Additionally, they offer assistance to foreign-born residents of Florida (Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida, 2014).

National Immigration Law Center

This information resource enables immigrants to learn more about the healthcare services to which they are entitled (National Immigration Law Center, 2010).

Lutheran Services Florida

This organization provides assistance to immigrants who may encounter a set of difficulties such as domestic violence, depression, anxiety, and so forth (Lutheran Services Florida, 2012). Overall, by relying on print and electronic media, one can reach the greatest number of people. This is why these approaches are the most appropriate ones.

Reference List

Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida. (2014). Counseling. Web.

Lutheran Services Florida. (2012). Immigration Services, Matching Grant Program. Web.

National Immigration Law Center. (2010). Immigrants and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Web.

Weist, M., Evans, S., & Lever, N. (2007). Handbook of School Mental Health: Advancing Practice and Research. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media.

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