Kin-Nection

Founded in 2024, Kin-nection is a 501(c)(3) public charity committed to serving displaced individuals experiencing emotional health challenges related to forced migration. Our mission is twofold: to ensure displaced people have access to linguistically and culturally competent mental health support, and to foster an ecosystem that uplifts the professionals providing this critical care.

Research consistently shows that refugees and migrants are at increased risk for trauma-related stress, depression, and anxiety — stemming not only from events in their country of origin but also from the complex and often perilous process of migration and the challenges faced after resettlement. Compounding this is the difficulty of accessing relevant, competent care due to cultural, linguistic, and systemic barriers.

Yet, amid these challenges lies a powerful truth: displaced individuals are deeply resilient. Given the opportunity, they recover, rebuild, and contribute meaningfully to the communities they join. In fact, the economic and societal contributions of resettled individuals, over time, more than offset the initial cost of resettling and integration support.

So, we've made our case: when we support displaced people, we all benefit.

At Kin-nection, we are acutely aware that the burden of providing emotional and mental health support to refugee and migrant communities often falls on a small pool of bilingual professionals or use providers who work with untrained language professionals using telefonic interpreting or in-person interpreters which require clients to transport themselves to a physical location.

Here’s what we’re doing about it:

• We give access to trained interpreters and therapists who can provide remote interpretation and teletherapy, increasing access for clients who may not otherwise be able to receive care.

• We train interpreters and therapists to work together effectively — ensuring high-quality, trauma-informed, and culturally attuned services.

• We offer free, self-paced online courses and facilitated debrief groups for care providers to prevent burnout, reduce isolation, and address vicarious trauma.

Our work is grounded in equity, healing, and dignity — for both those seeking care and those providing it.

What We’ve Accomplished So Far:

• Initiated partnerships with nonprofits serving displaced communities

• Released three specialized training courses for interpreters and therapists

• Built and launched our website and social media platforms

• Formed a growing collective of trained interpreters and therapists

• Collaborated with partners to plan awareness events

• Provided mental health support to individuals displaced by the LA wildfires

Our Next Goals:

• Expand our collective of trained professionals

• Use language specialists who can provide site translation for our website content

• Grow our library of free, accessible online training resources

• Build internal operations for long-term sustainability

• Raise public awareness about the mental health needs of displaced communities

• Foster community and support among interpreters and therapists doing this critical work

Here’s What We Need to Get There:

• Funding to compensate professionals in our collective who can no longer afford to volunteer but remain committed to this work

• 1–2 part-time staff to support operations and fundraising

• Tech support to help us build and maintain our tech infrastructure

While we are grateful for the energy and dedication of our many volunteers, we believe in fair compensation — especially in a field where emotional labor and language access are too often undervalued.

Join Us

If you believe in a world where healing is accessible, culturally relevant, and delivered with dignity, we invite you to support Kin-nection. Together, we can strengthen the systems that care for some of our most resilient — yet underserved — community members.