Immigrant experience resources (grief, mental health, and other supports)
Grief, Mental Health, and Community Support for Immigrant Communities
As ICE raids intensify across Los Angeles, immigrant families are being forced to navigate layers of fear, uncertainty, and profound grief. For those directly impacted, the emotional toll is heavy - grieving lost time, displaced loved ones, and a sense of safety. For many undocumented and mixed-status families, that grief is compounded by limited access to mental health care, cultural stigma around emotional vulnerability, and the daily strain of surviving in a system that devalues their presence.
This resource list was created for those experiencing this grief firsthand and for those committed to learning how to show up better. Whether you’re seeking trauma-informed therapy, preparing your family with legal safety plans, organizing for justice, or simply trying to understand what it means to grieve in a context shaped by displacement and criminalization, these guides, directories, and personal stories offer both immediate support and long-term care.
Let this be a starting point for healing, for community, and for a deeper commitment to dignity. If you can’t find what you’re looking for here, email us directly: hello@timetopause.org
(image by BACII)
Upcoming events
CHIRLA Coalition for Human Rights @ The Goddess Mercado // June 14th ~ @chirla_org is coming to The Goddess Mercado to inform and educate you on all the services they offer our immigrant community. Come and be part of our movement! Stand up to ICE through education, community, unity, and empowerment! Immigrant communities are facing heightened attacks, from devastating raids tearing families apart, to policies designed to strip people of their rights and dignity. For over 39 years, @chirla_org has been on the frontlines, fighting back against these injustices and providing critical legal services, advocacy, and support to immigrant communities. 🫂🧡 All Thrift Walk proceeds will be donated to CHIRLA. Please come show your support this Saturday, June 14th 4-8pm. This Immigrant Heritage Month, standing with immigrants is more urgent than ever. Your donation helps keep families together, protects our communities, and fuels the fight for justice!
🥐 Pan and Pilates 🥐 with The Goddess Mercado // June 14th ~ Sunset Pilates 5:30-6:30PM 📍 Free Parking in Structure and lot Start your Sábado with Pilates, Perreo, and enjoy Cafecito y pan after. Pan and Pilates x Goddess Mercado is the perfect opportunity to meet new amigas or to bring your bestie along! No Pilates experience needed—just come ready to move, laugh, and connect. Bring yourself, a mat, and some water. 🥐 Pan y Pilates 🥐 is a free event but donations are welcomed to keep the good vibes, pan, and cafecito going! 🌞 Ready to feel the pilates sazón?
"Know Your Rights" Training (for healthcare workers) // June 17th ~ In light of the alarming increase in ICE raids, protests, and overall socio-political situation regarding migrants, knowing your rights before ICE agents is more crucial than ever. Engaging in acts of community care means making efforts to protect our most vulnerable from state violence and repression. Join Introspective Spaces, Don't Clock Out, and LA Kalusugan Collective (LAKAS) for a virtual Know Your Rights webinar for healthcare workers. Created and facilitated by LAKAS, this workshop is designed to empower healthcare workers to learn about how we can protect our patients' rights. Save your spot here.
We Speak Through Art: Youth Expression & Healing Workshop // June 18th ~ In partnership with @blvdmrkt, we’re creating a safe space for Montebello youth to express their emotions through journaling, painting, and banner-making — especially in light of recent ICE activity and the fear it’s caused in our community. We’re calling on teachers, artists, and creatives to volunteer and help lead art stations — and we’re also in need of art supply donations. 🎒 Supplies Needed: poster boards, journals, paint, markers, scissors, glue, magazines, and more. Let’s come together to support our youth and give them the tools to heal, reflect, and raise their voices through art. 🧡
June Grief Soundbath // June 26th ~ Join Cosmic Return and Adelitas Revenge for a collective space to share and release grief! This offering provides a collective healing space designed to help us connect with our grief, share our experiences with others, and release energy with intention. Join us for a supportive group discussion and a reiki-infused sound bath. All proceeds will be donated to ÓRALE in Long Beach.
Red, White and Bruised : A Soft Rebellion // July 5th ~ This July 4th weekend, we’re not celebrating — we’re tending to what’s been scorched and what’s still unfolding. Red, White & Bruised: The Soft Rebellion is a sound-centered gathering born from the grief in our city — in the wake of fires that choked our skies, and amid ongoing ICE raids that continue to separate families and spread fear. This is not a party. This is a place to rest. A meditative sound bath for the overburdened and the underheld. A quiet container to lay down your rage, your grief, your numbness, your breath. A space where stillness is protest, where sound is balm, and where no one has to explain why they’re tired. Whether you’re mourning a loved one, grieving what’s happening in our neighborhoods, or simply surviving the weight of this moment — you are welcome here. Come as you are. Pay what you can. Leave softer.
Mental Health and Grief Support
UndocuHealth Mental Health Directory: https://unitedwedream.org/our-work/undocuhealth-wellness/mental-health-directory/
Latinx Therapists Action Network Directory: https://ltan.org/directory/
LatinxTherapy Directory: https://latinxtherapy.com/find/
Open Path Collective: https://openpathcollective.org/find-a-clinician/
The Playhouse Collective: https://www.playhousetherapy.co/
Toolkits and Guides
Care Practices Guide (Latinx Therapists Action Network)
About this guide ~ The Care Practices Guide aims to support resiliency, mental health, and collective care for people organizing and communities building power and movements together to endure through the most challenging times and long term.
This guide will explore a basic understanding of the intersections of trauma, oppression, and well-being. It is meant to be a resource for mental health education; it includes practices you and your team can collectively engage in or individually with each other and your community.
Our Care Guide contains practical tools to regulate your nervous system, from reflections to mindful pauses to managing organizational expectations and community needs. It’s filled with educational concepts on mental health to help you fill your toolbox.
This guide is for you, the light in the movement for immigrant rights. An organization is a collective nervous system shaped by our stories, tendencies, and nervous systems. Collective care is not an afterthought but a foundational component of building power together to ensure our movements endure in the most challenging times and the long run.
Resilience and Community Care (UndocuHealth & United We Dream)
The UndocuHealth Program Resilience and Community Care Toolkit was designed to support you as an immigrant justice organizer and leader.
For Young Leaders Participating in Protest (United We Dream)
As you prepare to take part in community actions, remember that each of us plays a vital role in strengthening our collective call for justice and systemic change. Our presence amplifies our collective voice, making our advocacy more powerful and impactful. It’s essential to stay rooted in our goals, prepared to engage safely, and to have a plan that embodies our commitment to resilience and solidarity.
Preparedness Packet (United We Dream)
Planning ahead is essential for immigrant families to ensure they are prepared for potential immigration emergencies. United We Dream’s Preparedness Packet is a critical tool designed to help immigrants protect themselves and their loved ones in the event of detention by immigration authorities. This packet includes copies of essential documents, emergency contacts, and key legal information to safeguard your rights and ensure your family has a clear plan in place. Completing this packet in advance can reduce uncertainty and stress, empowering you to stay one step ahead in difficult situations.
First Steps After Someone You Care About is Detained by Immigration ~ Immigration detention is an injustice that nobody should ever have to experience. If someone you know has been detained by immigration agents, there are steps you can take to support them. If someone was recently detained, start by contacting your local Rapid Response Network as quickly as possible. For a list of Rapid Response Network hotlines in California, go to our Find Your Rapid Response Hotline page. Next, check out our guide on steps you can take to support someone in immigration detention. Read and download it.
Immigrants Belong Toolkit (Define America)
About the toolkit ~ The Immigrants Belong Toolkit is designed to equip digital storytellers and content creators with research-backed strategies to combat harmful and dehumanizing narratives about immigrants. Informed by our original social psychology research with Harmony Labs and built in collaboration with Tides Foundation, this toolkit offers practical steps to help shift the narrative surrounding immigration in a way that resonates with the Moveable Middle—the critical audience that is open to changing their views on immigration.
This toolkit draws on extensive research into the digital landscape, where misinformation about immigrants spreads rapidly. By identifying the most effective messaging techniques and visual cues, the toolkit provides a framework for reaching key audiences with content that humanizes immigrants and counters fear-based, anti-immigrant narratives.
In a digital world where mis and disinformation can have a powerful impact, storytelling is the most effective tool for changing hearts and minds. Through collaboration and ongoing research, Define American aims to create a narrative shift that upholds the dignity and humanity of all immigrants. This guide is for anyone working to amplify the immigrant rights movement through thoughtful, targeted digital content.
Perspective and Learning
From Selena: Grief and the Experiences of Immigrants
“I Missed So Much:” Why Grief Is So Complicated When You’re Undocumented
Easing the Toll of Long-Distance Grief
The Long-Lasting Trauma of Family Detention Centers
Deportations Under Trump: A Tool Against Immigrants and Dissent
Becoming the Bridge Between Two Countries: Immigration Grief and Cultural Bereavement
Mijente article: 5 important reports that meet this moment
The Deportation Machine: America's Long History of Expelling Immigrants
Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen
Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions
Organizations to Support
(a list from Women’s Foundation California)
(A list from GoodGoodGood)
Inland Coalition For Immigrant Justice: A collective of over 35 organizations that serve the immigrant community in California through policy advocacy, community organizing and education, and rapid response to ICE and border patrol operations
Immigrant Defenders Law Center: A nonprofit social justice law firm that defends California’s immigrant communities against systemic injustice
California Immigrant Policy Center: A statewide immigrant rights organization that works to advance pro-immigrant policies across California
San Bernardino Community Service Center: A local organization that provides immigrant communities with free and low-cost legal services, educational resources, new citizen support, and more
Central American Resource Center: A group founded by Central American refugees in 1983 that provides free legal services, advocacy support, and a Day Labor Center for California’s immigrant community
CLUE Immigrant Bond Fund: The nonprofit Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice is a group of interfaith leaders and community members that support local workers. They have created a bond fund for detained immigrants and their families.
If you are a U.S. citizen who witnesses an ICE raid, here are a few key things that are within your rights to do:
If you see a raid possibly happening, unmarked cars, or ICE agents in your area, call a hotline to report the sighting. This helps mobilize area organizations to help provide immediate assistance.
Text JOIN to 877-322-2299, and reply with your zip code to get alerts for ICE activity in your area from the Stop ICE Raids Alert Network. (You can also text REPORT to 877-322-2299 to report ICE activity.)
Record any and all information you can in a video or by writing things down. Get information from the person being detained (name, phone number, a phone number of a loved one, their address, etc.), as well as badge numbers of ICE agents, license plate numbers, and car details like color, make, model, and any distinguishing features.
If you can physically act as a translator or interpreter between immigrant communities and authorities, use that privilege to help!