A clinic in El Cajon, Calif., treats patients recovering from anything from gunshot wounds to PTSD and anxiety about family left behind.
On an old-fashioned Main Street, among Western-themed murals, thrift shops and halal markets, sits the bustling El Cajon Family Health Center, serving Mahmoud and other victims of the devastating civil war in Syria.
Syrian refugees struggle disproportionately with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression because of their exposure to extreme violence and anxiety about relatives still in Syria, clinic staff and community volunteers say. Most who have fled spent years holed up in camps or apartments, with little access to routine medical care for war wounds or chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.
More Syrian refugees came to San Diego County than any other U.S. metro area — over 1,000 as of the first quarter of 2017, according to the State Department. And more than 80 percent of them live in El Cajon, where county service providers and resettlement agency offices abound, said Chris Williams, executive director of the Syrian Community Network-San Diego, a local branch of the aid organization.
To read more of Eryn Brown's article, please click here.
Comments (0)