Southern Border Resources
TTC Resources to Support Asylum Seekers
at the US Southern Border
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Responder Self-Care Strategies
Being aware of your own stress and using coping strategies will help you stay well, and allow you to keep helping others. This pocket card offers some tips for volunteers and behavioral health professionals to keep in mind as they respond to emergency situations.
Southern Border Resources to Address Immediate Needs
Compiled by the MHTTC Network, this list of resources to support the mental health of asylum seekers, primarily unaccompanied minors, on our Southern Border, includes those developed by the MHTTCs and other reputable organizations. The list is sorted alphabetically by title within the following categories: Cultural Responsiveness, Psychological First Aid, Staff Burnout and Secondary Trauma, Suicide Prevention, and Trauma Informed Care.
Trauma-Informed Strategies to Engage with Youth Seeking Asylum 
Children who have been exposed to trauma can experience learning difficulties, regression in development (e.g., bed-wetting, speech), sleep disruption, clinginess, or may break rules and push boundaries. This pocket card offers some tips to keep in mind as volunteers and behavioral health professionals engage with youth seeking asylum.
Southern Border Resource Pocket Card for Children
This resource provides a prompt for children at the border to remember that their feelings are normal. The other side of the pocket card contains a brief breathing exercise that children can do to help promote calmness and encouraging relaxation.
Access this resource in Spanish
Access this resource in English
Mindfulness, Self-Care, and Calming Activities for Children
This a list of activities to help children in these facilities. These activities can be done with staff and children, or independently by the children. They are activities that promote calmness, reflection, and mindfulness. These activities strive to help children identify, understand, and normalize some of the feelings they might have. Other activities strive to help the children manage their emotions, as well as identify their values.
Southern Border Resource Pocket Card for Staff
This resource provides staff with tools to understand their positive impact; help them identify their stressors; and give them ideas and tools for self-care.
Access this resource in Spanish
Access this resource in English
Expanded Staff-Facing Pocket Card
This is an expansion of the Southern Border Staff-Facing Pocket Card. This is a deeper dive into the strengths, stressors, and opportunities of the bilingual and translator staff serving these facilities.
Phrases To Calm A Child
“Let’s pretend we’re blowing up a giant balloon. We’ll take a deep breath and blow it up to the count of 5.” / “Let’s breathe together.” |
"Vamos a pretender que estamos inflando un globo gigante. Respiraremos hondo y lo explotaremos cuando terminemos de contar hasta el número cinco ". / "Vamos a comenzar, respiremos juntos".
“This feeling will pass.” | "Este sentimiento pasará".
“This is so hard.” | "Esto es muy difícil".
“I care about you, and want to help you” | "Me preocupo por ti y quiero ayudarte"
“You are so brave!” | "¡Eres muy valiente!"
“Let’s write a new story.” | "Escribamos una nueva historia".
“Let’s stretch together.” | "Estirémonos juntos".
(incorporate stretch/yoga resource for anxious kids/incorpore recursos de estiramiento y/o yoga para niños ansiosos)
“I get scared too.” | "Yo también me asusto".
“You are loved.” | "Eres amado".
“This is not your fault” | "Esto no es culpa tuya"
MHTTC Additional Resources to Support the Mental Health of Asylum Seekers
PTTC Additional Resources to Support the Mental Health of Asylum Seekers
ATTC Additional Resources to Support the Mental Health of Asylum Seekers
Additional Helpful Resources:
Resources for Mindfulness
- Breathing Butterfly in Spanish
- Printable Mindfulness Cards
- MiniPadmini YOGA PARA NIÑOS Y NIÑAS Youtube channel
- MindYeti Youtube Channel
- Meditation scripts in Spanish that can be read aloud
- Audio files of guided meditations in Spanish from UCLA
- Dos & Don’ts of Child Friendly Interviewing Tip Sheet
- Dos & Don’ts of Child Friendly Interviewing Webinar
Additional, Helpful Resources
- NCTSN Directory of NCTSN Centers and Affiliate Members Serving Immigrant and Refugee Populations
- NCTSN Psychological First Aid for Unaccompanied Children
- Phrases to Calm an Anxious Child
- UNICEF Report: Building Bridges for Every Child: Reception, Care and Services to Support Unaccompanied Children in the United States
- Maya Healthcare Toolkit for Medical Providers
- Trauma Informed Work with Asylum-Seeking Youth at the Border
- Unaccompanied Children and Families Seeking Asylum: Traumatic Effects on Children’s Attachment and Reunification
- Culturally-Responsive Approaches to Serve Latin American Children who Experience Traumatic Separation
Related Organizations/Websites
- Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services (BRYCS)
- Migrant Clinicians Network
- The Center on Immigration and Child Welfare
- NCTSN Resources Related To Traumatic Separation And Refugee And Immigrant Trauma