Mother’s Day & Mental Health: Creating a Space for Healing
At World Relief Memphis, we strive to support our community in meaningful ways. This Mother’s Day, we held a special event dedicated to our Cuban-entrant mothers who face the profound challenge of being separated from their children. This initiative was not only a celebration but also a recognition of the mental health struggles these women endure.
Seeing a Need
Over the past few years, Skarleth and Isabella have worked closely with the Cuban community in World Relief Memphis’ Newcomer Outreach (NO) service line. While most of their programming can feel impersonal and tedious, such as completing necessary paperwork and signing up clients for benefits, they have made time to build strong relationships.
The more they heard their clients’ stories, the more Skarleth and Isabella realized they wanted to create safe spaces for them to be in community with those with similar experiences outside of their regular program activities. Isabella shared that their “first idea was to do something nice. Just gather, you know, and meet each other. Because sometimes we have clients that cross in some visits to our office, but they don’t know each other.”
Skarleth continued to explain, “It’s definitely not something we do all the time as part of our program. But by just engaging with our clients, we’ve realized how many of our Cuban-entrant mothers are here without their children. Assuming that this is a very hard thing on top of just overcoming the challenges of being in a new place, you’re also dealing with children left behind. With that in mind, we just acknowledge how that can impact your mental health. And we thought, why not gather our moms in honor of Mother’s Day? Let’s bring them together.”
“It’s definitely not something we do all the time as part of our program. But by just engaging with our clients, we’ve realized how many of our Cuban-entrant mothers are here without their children.
Skarleth Cruz
Creating a Safe Space
Skarleth and Isabella envisioned the day as therapeutic and rejuvenating for the moms when planning the event. “We want them to feel comfortable with each other; we want them to feel relaxed. We want them to feel like this is a day for them to enjoy. This is not business because every time we meet, it is to talk about work. But this is a very chill, relaxed time to gather and just, you know, make friends,” shared Skarleth.
Thankfully, they did not have to look far for partners who shared their vision and were excited to donate their ideas, services, and skills to the event.
Leveraging their connections in the Latinx community, Skarleth and Isabella invited Therapist Alicia Pereira to share her expertise with the moms. Alicia’s focus on immigrant grief and trauma was a perfect fit, adding a layer of therapeutic support to the day. With the potential for heaviness in Alicia’s presentation, they wanted to plan to have some time for the women to decompress and process the information. One of Skarleth and Isabella’s other team members in NO, Iryna, happens to be a music therapist and was able to share a playlist and suggest a guided art activity that would help wrap up the event on a relaxing note.
The final essential part of the event was ensuring there was good food and a sweet treat for the women to enjoy. For this, Skarleth and Isabella planned a wonderful charcuterie spread and partnered with community member Yenny Ramirez from Reposteria Creativa (Creative Pastries) to provide a delicious pastry for each woman to enjoy.
A Day of Healing & Connection
When the day finally came, the event surpassed all their expectations. Recounting the day Skarleth shared,
“Once we set up the room, we created a space that they felt safe. They were just so eager to share and to be vulnerable to the point of getting out a lot of feelings. We know everybody’s carrying their own mental health issues and anxieties, but until then, I wouldn’t say that they did. It was eye-opening.
The presentation was just meant to be an encouragement, but it really turned into like a therapy session where everybody was able to speak and release a lot of feelings and emotions. That made me think, wow, I know that they were not expecting that. We were not expecting that. Everyone was expressing those emotions. It made me think, wow, they were ready and just needed the space.
And just the energy that was felt. It was it was very beautiful and raw. I feel like they felt that other people were respectful and were so comfortable sharing and encouraging each other. Despite the fact that they were not really friends. And that, to me, was beautiful. And towards the end of the day, everybody was having their spirits so lifted, and it just felt so therapeutic.”
We were not expecting that. Everyone was expressing those emotions. It made me think, wow, they were ready and just needed the space.
Skarleth Cruz
Isabella was also deeply impacted by the day.
“All of them shared how much the event meant to them. Even from clients, that maybe it was the second time I spoke to them. I didn’t have any idea of all those traumas, all those issues, and all the problems they had.
When they first came in their faces, their attitude was totally different when they left the room. I noticed that even the silent ones, even people who didn’t share anything, seemed very pleased. Also, a group of them asked me to create a group for all of them to share in, to be supported, and to have support from each other. And they all were like, “Thank you so much. This event meant a lot to me.”
One woman who had lost her husband during the journey when they came in from Mexico, at the end of the day, told me, “Thank you so much because thanks to you, I found Alicia, and she will help me. So if you never came up with this idea, that probably would never happen.” So she was so happy and so thankful because of this event, she found this person to you know, to help her breathe.”
When they first came in their faces, their attitude was totally different when they left the room. I noticed that even the silent ones, even people who didn’t share anything, seemed very pleased.
Isabella Canelo
How you can support change that lasts
We strive to see thriving, welcoming communities where families flourish, and people experience restorative relationships with God, their neighbors, themselves, and all of creation. Events like these are an important step in seeing the holistic support of our newest neighbors. These events also require substantial effort and resources. We need volunteers, logistical support, and community spaces to host such gatherings regularly. Here are a few ways you can help:
Volunteer
Help us organize and run future events. Your time can make a significant difference.
Donate
Contributions can fund materials for therapeutic activities and refreshments.
Host
If you’re part of a church or community center, consider hosting similar events.
Teach
Whether it’s crafts, music, or another hobby, sharing your talents can provide a valuable outlet for our clients.
Isabella emphasized the importance of balancing administrative tasks with relationship-building efforts. “We often get lost in the admin side of things, but events like these remind us why we joined this mission—to show love and care.”
By supporting us, you’re not just assisting with logistics; you’re helping create a sanctuary for those who need it most. Together, we can ensure these mothers feel the warmth of community and the strength to face their challenges.
For more information on how to get involved, please contact us. Together we can make change that lasts.
Writer: Kara Spencer
Communication Coordinator at World Relief Memphis, graduate of Harding University, & Memphis native.
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