Mental Health Awareness Month 2023

Damayan recognizes Mental Health Awareness Month 2023 and stands with all Filipino migrant workers who suffer and struggle with these challenges. Majority of Damayan members are women domestic workers who experience mental health problems of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and more, as a result of labor trafficking and modern-day slavery, employer abuse, anti-Asian racism and violence, Covid 19, and years of family separation. Mental health problems are affecting many of our community members, but because there is stigma about mental health in the Filipino culture, these challenges are usually hidden, minimized, or ignored. 

We are committed to providing service referrals and community education to address the mental health problems of our community members. But recognizing that mental health problems in our community are the outcome of bigger economic, social and even political  structures like the Philippine Labor Export Program pushing the forced migration of thousands of Filipino mothers and labor trafficking, Damayan will persevere in exposing, organizing, and mobilizing our impacted community members to fight these systemic causes. 

Damayan supports the struggle of the Filipino people for just jobs, basic services and a viable economy and advocates to end the Philippine Labor Export Program which could stop Filipino forced migration and family separation. We hope for a homeland that is not reliant on foreign corporations, with a thriving economy  that could provide ample and  fair employment to our people. Only then will  forced migration halt and not one more family will  ever be separated again. Only then will the Mental Health of our community significantly improve… 

Still, this Mental Health Awareness Month 2023, we want workers in our community to know that suffering from mental health lows is okay and If you would like to access Mental Health services and referrals, please contact Damayan at (212) 564-6057. We are here for you! 

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