Sophia's Wheelchair
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Just past the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, the large, open hall of the Holy Family Shelter was divided into two distinct spaces. On one side, women gathered around a table, working with Adalberto Sanchez, JRS/USA’s mental health clinician, as they processed the weight of their journeys and the uncertainty of what was to come.
Adalberto gently guided them through a worksheet, offering a safe space to share their experiences, while helping them regain emotional balance after the challenges they had endured.
Adalberto gently guided them through a worksheet, offering a safe space to share their experiences, while helping them regain emotional balance after the challenges they had endured.
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Across the room, children played in a small, carpeted section where plastic kitchenettes, foam balls, and other toys were scattered about.
The end credits of Moana rolled on a projector screen, but the children were more engrossed in their imaginary games. Two nine-year-old girls pretended to make a meal for a younger boy. A toddler darted back and forth across the room, tugging on his mother’s shirt every few minutes to ask for more grapes.
The end credits of Moana rolled on a projector screen, but the children were more engrossed in their imaginary games. Two nine-year-old girls pretended to make a meal for a younger boy. A toddler darted back and forth across the room, tugging on his mother’s shirt every few minutes to ask for more grapes.
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Daniela Lagunes, another JRS/USA clinician who worked primarily with children, sat beside 11-year-old Sophia*.
They chatted, not about the heavy realities of what Sophia had been through, but about something simple and grounding—Sophia’s favorite meal from her hometown. Daniela listened as Sophia described how she used to help her mother prepare it.
They chatted, not about the heavy realities of what Sophia had been through, but about something simple and grounding—Sophia’s favorite meal from her hometown. Daniela listened as Sophia described how she used to help her mother prepare it.
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For three days, Sophia and her mother stayed at the Holy Family Shelter, where they received meals, a safe place to sleep, emergency supplies, and crucial mental health and psychosocial support. Throughout the profound uncertainty of forced displacement, JRS’s model of accompaniment and focus on mental health and psychosocial support restored a sense of hope and strength for people like Sophia and her mother, equipping them with the tools they needed to move forward.
*Name changed to protect safety and anonymity
*Name changed to protect safety and anonymity
