This lesson is recommended to be taught after “Contextualizing the Hmong Refugee Experience” but can also serve as a stand-alone lesson as well. 

Step 1: Teacher introduces the topic: Refugee Experiences of Mental Health and Trauma. Have students brainstorm their definition of the terms: Mental Health and Trauma. 

• Display the quotes below from the Building Partnerships: Conversations with the Hmong About Mental Health Needs and Community Strengths report. 
• Have students read the quotes to themselves and share with a partner the following: What quote stood out to you, and why? What conclusions can you draw about Hmong mental health after reading these quotes? What questions do you have?
  • “As many had mentioned earlier, in our country, we have no medical doctor who would give us all kinds of diagnosis or say that you have this kind of illness that kind of illness. When we are ill then we are ill, and when we die we die. There were no such illness as cancer, stroke, liver disease, heart disease, etc. When we got here everything had changed.”  -Hmong Community Leader
  • “In Laos, we didn’t ever talk about mental health problems. We just talk about pain here, pain there. But here when we try to explain, there’s two types of doctors. One’s to cure your physical. The other one’s to cure your mind… They need more education to let them know what is mental health and what’s not.”  -Hmong Community Leader
  • “I’d like to see someone that is a Hmong person that can talk to these people and make sure what they have is what they have, whether medical problem or mental health problems. So that person would know where to go for services… There’s a lack of Hmong mental health providers.”   -Hmong Community Leader
  • “The Communists killed my husband dead, right in front of me… and I’m very depressed but tried not to think about it, if I think about it, then my heart will stop.”  -Hmong Refugee Woman
  • “I believe that the most important thing in this country is the living situation and the daily living conditions. Things such as rent and bills create massive and major depression. They cause many anxiety and depressive feelings.” - Hmong Community Leader

Step 2: Students will examine the impacts of the Hmong refugee experiences on their mental health. Have students read the article “New generation pushes Hmong mental health concerns into the light” (https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/01/22/new-generation-pushes-hmong-mental-health-concerns-into-the-light).  

• Before reading, have the students skim the article and share unknown words. Go over and define the unfamiliar words as a class. 
• During their read, have students note: challenges, community strengths and assets, and prevention. 

Step 3: Next, read the UC Davis report: Building Partnerships: Conversations with the Hmong About Mental Health Needs and Community Strengths (https://ucdavis.box.com/s/agfynbzvluhtiubr1xqy8o2de0ehzaoq). Have the students discuss key points with a partner or table group. Debrief as a class. 

• Before reading, have the students skim the article and share unknown words. Go over and define the unfamiliar words as a class. 
• During their read, have students note: challenges, community strengths and assets, and prevention.

Step 4: Discuss the quotes in relation to the report's key findings about challenges, community strengths and assets, and prevention. 

• Optional: Students can complete another Thoughts & Feelings and My Best Judgment from the Reporter’s Notebook (https://ucdavis.box.com/s/k8rttjg24nlrvvvyqusxwubwn4ygy1zc).  
• Challenges:
  • Scarcity and difficulty accessing services
  • Too few Hmong providers - culturally appropriate services
  • Stigma and lack of awareness of mental health problems
• Community Strength and Assets:
  • Family and community bonds- interdependence
  • Hmong community-based organizations
• Prevention:
  • Education and awareness campaigns
  • Cultural connection and empowerment programs
  • Group therapy
  • Parenting programs to overcome intergenerational cultural Conflict

Step 5: Debrief as a class and clarify any misunderstandings.

Assessment/Closure

Step 6: Students will choose either Option A or Option B for their assessment product:

• Assignment Option A: Have students complete a well-developed CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) response to the questions: What are Hmong Refugee experiences? How have these experiences impacted Hmong mental health? 

  CER will utilize the following criteria: 

  • Student product contains a central thesis addressing the question, What are Hmong Refugee experiences? 
  • Student product includes a minimum of three details.
  • Student product includes reasoning explaining how the evidence supports their claim.
  • Student product includes reference to how the refugee experience has impacted Hmong mental health.

• Assignment Option B: Students also have the option of completing the strategy Values, Identities, Actions reflection (https://ucdavis.box.com/s/b29m7rbsbc48x4ylkv9mtynpxarocrc3) that should address the criteria listed from the source.