Center for Multicultural Human Services

Finding mental health services to cope with the pain of loss, the trouble with adjusting to a new place, or dealing with a family crisis is hard enough for native English speakers. For new Americans who don’t speak English well or not at all and have survived mental and physical torture in their home countries, getting the right help was extremely difficult—until the creation of the Center for Multicultural Human Services.

Our investment partnership planned to help the Center for Multicultural Human Services achieve its vision to be recognized locally, nationally, and internationally as a leader in helping at-risk children and families from low-income and diverse cultural backgrounds overcome the obstacles that prevent them from achieving healthy functioning. The Center for Multicultural Human Services hoped to:

• Expand its services to benefit significantly more children and families
• Refine its model for services to at-risk children from multicultural backgrounds to achieve greater effectiveness and impact
• Provide consultation and training services to help adapt and replicate its model regionally, nationally, and internationally

Finding mental health services to cope with the pain of loss, the trouble with adjusting to a new place, or dealing with a family crisis is hard enough for native English speakers. For new Americans who don’t speak English well or not at all and have survived mental and physical torture in their home countries, getting the right help was extremely difficult—until the creation of the Center for Multicultural Human Services. Since the completion of the YI investment, the Center for Multicultural Human Services has merged with Northern Virginia Family Services and now operates as a division of its services.