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Project Salud Libre was an assessment of mental health needs among the mostly rural and largely Mexican American communities in California’s Imperial Valley. The assessment consisted of data gathered through surveys, structured focus groups, and key stakeholder interviews. Activities were conducted in Spanish and English across many locations spanning Imperial County. The surveys compiled demographic, acculturation, mental health symptom, service access and utilization, care preference, and related information. It identified common stressors, psychological responses, prevalent medical conditions, substance abuse patterns, unmet service needs, and the way people in the area try to cope with physical and mental challenges. It then

The Traumatic Event Sequelae Inventory (TESI) is an empirically developed, objective psychological instrument. It is designed to list and quantify symptoms reported by individuals who have been exposed to one or more traumatic events of the type that often lead to posttraumatic stress. Since its initial development by Robert Christopher, Ph.D. in 1995, TESI has been used in multiple situations. These include civilian adults and adolescents, forensic cases, US military personnel who have seen combat (e.g., in Iraq), and culturally distinct groups such as refugees from the broader Middle East / East African countries. TESI has thus shown itself to

Project Salaam was a community health & mental health needs assessment among San Diego’s Middle Eastern and East African populations. In that process it captured the most commonly reported psychological symptoms among persons who had experienced trauma, (or multiple traumas). Results supported the concept of complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorders based on symptom severity among those who had experienced multiple adverse events. This report presents results from an emotional health needs assessment conducted by Project Salaam. It focused on members of greater San Diego’s Middle Eastern, North African, and East African communities. That inattention to the specific needs and circumstances of