Part two of the Undocu Ally Training focused on mental health and trauma. This topic was led by Lupita Martinez, Mental Health Clinician for LBCC Student Services with a total of 36 participants.
The three main points discussed were mental health relevance to students, prescriptive allyship and practice, and resources on campus.
Undoubtedly, many undocumented students may be dealing with compiled stress. It derives from a variety of experiences such as fear. Fear can result due to family deportation or family separation. Anxiety can be experienced due to an uncertain future and pressure from not knowing what can happen to them. Shame comes from blaming and alienation. Lastly, depression can present itself as an issue due to substance abuse and thoughts of suicide.
Martinez said, “Most of these issues are not new. DACA was never a permanent policy so the worry of the future has always been there for undocumented students.”
She noted that in order to help your peers you have to make sure to be taking care of your own mental health as well. “Self care is important because many of the problem our undocumented peers have can be triggering and challenging to comprehend,” said Martinez.
An overload of stress can be detrimental to one’s health. When experiencing stress there is a hormone release in our bloodstream called cortisol. Also known as the fight-or-flight hormone.
Many students can be experiencing an overload of stress which can negatively affect their view in life.
Martinez said, “Ongoing stress can alter the view of life and many of our undocumented peers are living in a state of fear. Being in a constant state of fear and alert can make people irritable, affect reproductive health, and increase insulin resistance.”
A few ways to help reverse cortisol levels and its effects are physical exercise, meditation, and practicing grounding exercises such as focusing on the here and the now instead of the future. A few signs we can watch out for are people who are being more quiet than usual, decrease involvement in class, or lower grades.
A method to help our undocumented peers is called, “CARE.” Jose Gutierrez, LBCC DREAMS Services coordinator said, “This acronym stands for, Confidentiality, Assurance, Resourceful, and Empower.”
Guttierrez said, “I attended undocu ally trainings from others schools and I felt I was walking away with no tools to help undocumented students. If a student comes up to me and shares he/she is undocumented I want to be able to know how to respond.” This is how CARE was developed.
Confidentiality is the confidence that you are trusted with personal and sensitive information from a student.
Assurance is knowing it is okay to not know all the answers on how to help or knowledge of immigration policies. The best option is working in unison to find the answers with peers instead of giving false information.
Resourceful is being proactive and reaching out to allies such as DREAM services on how to further help.
Lastly, Empower is to help assure students that LBCC is behind and supporting them.
If you can commit to CARE, another valuable thing you can do is listen and validate.
Martinez said, “Listen and remain calm and by no means is it a request for you to solve the problem, all they need is someone to listen. When this happens, step into your peer’s shoes and let go of any judgement. Hold space for them to share, listen and don’t interrupt.”
Another important reminder Martinez said was, “When a student reveals they are undocumented, do not interrogate them. They will tell you when they are ready to share. It can cause stress. Also, recognize there may be others that are intolerant to undocumented students or you as an ally, that’s just the way it is.”
Lastly, being an ally is a process. It’s important to not be afraid to not have the answers and find someone on campus who may have answers.
Some resources on campus are student health services, basic needs and DREAM services. Check the links provided below for more information.
Student Health Service information click here
LBCC Basic Needs click here
DREAM Services click here