McNair Scholar 2023 - Fatuma Arab
Quote from Fatuma Arab
"My dream is to start a mental health practice for the people in my community. I want to travel around the world providing better health treatment for developing countries."
Research project
Designing a participatory model for integrating well-being and climate leadership with Somali American Youth
Abstract: The Somali community in the U.S. demonstrates leadership in various areas like civic engagement, policy work, and research. However, they are underrepresented in climate justice activism and mental health awareness. With Somalia ranked one of the top countries for global vulnerability to climate change, what barriers do Somali Americans face to being involved in climate justice? Additionally, as refugees/immigrant descendants from a conflict-ridden country, Somali youth lack resources to discuss mental health and address community challenges such as climate change. This project aims to explore the connection between neighborhood/cultural identities, climate justice, and psychological trauma/belonging. Through the participatory experience-based co-design (EBCD) methodology, seven resilient Somali youths aged 20-24 will learn research and climate change activism principles. The result that we hope this study to have is that these youths will then apply their knowledge in community-based research, ultimately educating others and promoting positive change.
Faculty mentor
Saida Abdi is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. She is a clinical social worker and a refugee trauma and resilience expert. Dr. Abdi has worked for over 20 with refugee youth and families in the diaspora. Her area of focus is building individual, family, and community resilience and improving systems of care responsiveness to the needs of refugee and immigrant communities. She is the co-author of the recently published book, Mental Health Practice with Immigrant and Refugee Youth: A Socioecological Framework (APA, 2019)