The Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health Annual Convening

(español abajo)

Time: November 13th, 2026, from 8:15am to 6pm (approx)

Location: Chicago Teachers Union

This year’s annual convening marks the Coalition’s 10th anniversary and serves as a space for celebration, learning, reflection, and connection. CIMH has creatively rooted its efforts in promoting wellness and the humane treatment of immigrants by building and bridging alliances with community organizations, advocating for culturally respectful local and state-level responses, as well as implementing and creating culturally responsive trauma-informed trainings.

Reflecting the Coalition’s efforts in the past ten years, this convening will center community-rooted, trauma-informed, and practice-based approaches to wellness and healing through culture, imagination, solidarity, and collective care. We aim to create a gathering that is practical, accessible, inclusive, and grounded in the wisdom and leadership of immigrant and refugee communities.

The goals of this convening are to:

• Celebrate and acknowledge the Coalition’s 10th anniversary and collective accomplishments
• Highlight and uplift the work of community organizations and directly impacted leaders
• Foster opportunities for learning, reflection, networking, and collaboration
• Share concrete and practical skills, tools, and strategies communities can use immediately
• Strengthen collective capacity and mutual support systems
• Build connections across sectors, roles, and communities
• Provide spaces for visioning a future of well-being
• Create accessible and welcoming spaces for directly impacted community members

Continuing Education Units (CEs) for social workers, counselors, therapists, psychologists, and related professionals will be included with your ticket.

For questions related to the convening, please contact Cindy Eigler at [email protected]

Cultivando las Raíces del Bienestar a Través de la Conexión, la Cultura y la Imaginación

Fecha: 13 de noviembre de 2026, de 8:15am a 6:00pm (aprox.)

Lugar: Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago

El encuentro anual de este año conmemora el décimo aniversario de la Coalición y ofrece un espacio para la celebración, el aprendizaje, la reflexión y la conexión. CIMH ha basado sus esfuerzos de manera creativa en la promoción del bienestar y el trato humano a los inmigrantes mediante la creación y el fortalecimiento de alianzas con organizaciones comunitarias, la defensa de respuestas locales y estatales culturalmente respetuosas, así como la implementación y creación de capacitaciones con enfoque en el trauma y adaptadas a la cultura.

Como reflejo de los esfuerzos de la Coalición durante los últimos diez años, este encuentro se centrará en enfoques comunitarios, con enfoque en el trauma y basados ​​en la práctica para el bienestar y la sanación a través de la cultura, la imaginación, la solidaridad y el cuidado colectivo. Nuestro objetivo es crear un encuentro práctico, accesible, inclusivo y basado en la sabiduría y el liderazgo de las comunidades inmigrantes y refugiadas.

Los objetivos de esta reunión son:

• Celebrar y reconocer el décimo aniversario de la Coalición y sus logros colectivos.
• Destacar y promover el trabajo de las organizaciones comunitarias y los líderes directamente afectados.
• Fomentar oportunidades de aprendizaje, reflexión, creación de redes y colaboración.
• Compartir habilidades, herramientas y estrategias concretas y prácticas que las comunidades puedan utilizar de inmediato.
• Fortalecer la capacidad colectiva y los sistemas de apoyo mutuo.
• Crear conexiones entre sectores, roles y comunidades.
• Proporcionar espacios para imaginar un futuro de bienestar.
• Crear espacios accesibles y acogedores para los miembros de la comunidad directamente afectados.

Créditos de formación continua (CE) a trabajadores sociales, consejeros, terapeutas, psicólogos y profesionales afines van a ser ofrecidos con tu ticket.

Para preguntas relacionadas con el encuentro, comuníquese con Cindy Eigler a [email protected]

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Info: As managers, we are trained to incorporate self-care, address implicit bias, and examine the impact of whiteness in our work. Yet we are often left with questions about how to hold space for our staff's individual needs while rooting our teams' success in effective collaboration. As leaders, we have come to understand that a one-size-fits-all management approach does not work. In this session, we will share lessons learned and practical tools for effective staff supervision, including consistent scheduling of one-on-one supervision, small and large team check-ins, dedicated time for visioning with direct service staff, self-care practices, and transparent and accountable feedback loops. Participants will leave with practical strategies to identify approaches to effective staff supervision, describe methods for supporting collaboration and staff well-being, and apply leadership practices that foster safe, supportive, and accountable work environments.

Info: Arab Americans are a diverse community with varied migration experiences, religious affiliations, cultural traditions, languages, and socioeconomic backgrounds that contribute to a rich and complex collective identity. This community-centered session explores the intersection of Arab identity, disability, immigration, and culture while distinguishing between Arab identity and Muslim identity. Presenters will examine how immigration experiences, acculturation, cultural identity, and religious connections can influence access to disability services, as well as the impact of ableism, Islamophobia, stigma, and harmful stereotypes on Arab people with disabilities. Participants will strengthen their cultural awareness and intercultural communication skills, identify strategies for building trust with Arab individuals and families, and apply culturally responsive practices that promote accessibility, inclusion, and meaningful community partnerships.

Info: This interactive session explores how the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP®) can be adapted to address the impacts of historical trauma, displacement, and acculturative stress on immigrant wellness. Presenters will examine how traditional, Indigenous, and community-based healing practices can complement the core concepts of WRAP® to support the wellness and recovery of immigrant individuals, families, and communities. Participants will identify family- and community-centered wellness strategies, develop a personalized Mini-WRAP® to strengthen individual wellness, and apply practical tools for recognizing stressors, building support systems, setting healthy boundaries, and planning for recovery and times of crisis.

Info: Young children often experience separation long before they understand why it is happening. For immigrant children and families, separation related to immigration enforcement, deportation, or migration can profoundly affect attachment, emotional regulation, behavior, and development. This interactive session explores separation-related stress and ambiguous loss through the lens of infant and early childhood mental health, emphasizing relationship-based approaches that promote safety, resilience, and healing. Participants will recognize behavioral signs of separation-related stress, distinguish developmental behaviors from trauma responses, apply attachment-informed and culturally responsive strategies that strengthen caregivers and educators, and identify protective factors that foster resilience for young children and families experiencing chronic stress and uncertainty.

Info: This interactive session introduces the Threads program, a group-based initiative designed to provide refugee and immigrant youth with opportunities to build community, strengthen social-emotional learning, and receive psychoeducational support. Through a hands-on tatreez (Arabic embroidery) activity and facilitated discussion, presenters will share the origins of the program, the community needs it was developed to address, and its vision for the future. Participants will gain introductory cross-stitching skills while exploring the role of culturally rooted, community-based approaches in promoting mental health and holistic wellness for newcomer communities. Participants will identify strategies for fostering belonging, strengthening community engagement, and increasing access to culturally responsive mental health supports.

Event venue & nearby stays

Chicago Teachers Union, 1901 West Carroll Avenue, Chicago, United States

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