El Futuro Releases Key 2024 Landscape Analysis Report With Findings on Latine and Immigrant Mental Health and Well-Being in North Carolina
The analysis offers crucial insights into some of North Carolina’s most underserved and underrepresented populations.
Why Immigrant Mental Health?
Immigrant populations can face unique challenges and stressors that impact mental well-being. Understanding and addressing these specific needs is vital to ensuring equitable mental health care and promoting well-being in diverse communities. North Carolina’s immigrant population has been steadily increasing. As our state becomes more diverse, it is important to address the mental health needs of immigrant communities now to close the existing gaps in understanding and service provision.
Landscape Analysis
A landscape analysis was conducted to explore the strengths and challenges of various immigrant groups in the state and potential opportunities to address policy issues impacting immigrant access to adequate services and supports for their mental well-being. This work was conducted through a partnership between El Futuro and the North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NCIOM) and was guided by an Advisory Council of individuals with knowledge and experience related to immigrant resources, mental health needs, and policies that influence mental health and access to care for immigrants. This work was supported by grants from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation and the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust.
Project Highlights:
El Futuro and the North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NCIOM) conducted informant interviews with key figures from various health and community organizations. The work of the ISN included engaging an Advisory Council – composed of individuals with detailed knowledge around immigrant services and mental health needs – whose insights have expanded the understanding of the needs of diverse immigrant communities across the state and increased awareness of the available resources to support them throughout North Carolina.
Immigrant Communities of North Carolina:
Immigrants constitute 8% of North Carolina’s population, with 43% being U.S. citizens, 35% lacking legal status, and 20% of all NC children having a foreign-born parent. The top countries of origin include Mexico, India, Honduras, El Salvador, China, and Vietnam.
Economic Contributions:
Immigrants make up 14% of North Carolina entrepreneurs, generating $1.5 billion in business income, paying $8.4 billion in total taxes, and constituting 11% of the workforce. Additionally, 17% of STEM workers in NC are immigrants.
Key Findings:
Common challenges that the immigrant communities in North Carolina face include language barriers, cultural differences, and legal status issues. However, they also demonstrate remarkable resilience through strong family ties, cultural traditions, and community support. Socioeconomic factors such as employment, education, and living conditions significantly impact mental health. Financial stability and supportive social networks are linked to better mental health outcomes, while poverty, unemployment, and discrimination contribute to stress, anxiety, and depression.
Barriers to accessing mental health services include language challenges, lack of information, economic constraints, and fear of deportation. Cultural stigma around mental health issues prevents many from seeking professional help. Community-based support systems, including religious leaders, traditional healers, and community figures, play a pivotal role in bridging gaps in formal health care systems.
El Futuro is committed to leveraging these findings to promote improved mental health outcomes for immigrant communities in North Carolina. By identifying challenges and building on community strengths, the organization aims to be part of important efforts promoting the mental health care needs for North Carolina’s diverse immigrant population.
About the North Carolina Institute of Medicine
The North Carolina Institute of Medicine (NCIOM) is a nonpolitical source of analysis and advice on important health issues facing the state. The NCIOM convenes stakeholders and other interested people from across the state to study these complex issues and develop workable solutions to improve health care in North Carolina.
Alvely Alcántara, LCSW
Rossy C. Garcia, MEd 
Katy Sims, MD 
Everardo Aviles, LCSW, LCAS (Eve)
As a medical anthropologist and social work researcher, Dr. Gulbas’ research embodies interdisciplinarity through the integration of applied theories of health and human development with qualitative and ethnographic methodologies. Her work seeks to understand how people—children, families, and providers—navigate complex sociocultural landscapes in the pursuit of mental health. Most of her work, to date, focuses attention on developing more robust interpretations of suicide risk. With funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health, this body of research has contributed to advancements in theoretical and empirical knowledge of the broader contexts within which youth suicide risk is situated. 
R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez is a developmental psychologist and an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the principal investigator of a study that examines the impact of immigration-related threat and stress on school communities. She earned a PhD in developmental psychology from Columbia University and hold a BA in human biology from Stanford University. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first gen college student.
Dr. Parra-Cardona is an Associate Professor in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (SHSSW) at the University of Texas at Austin. At the SHSSW, he serves as Coordinator for Mexico and Latin American initiatives. He also serves as Area Director for Research at the UT Austin Latino Research Institute. Dr. Parra-Cardona’s program of research is focused on the cultural adaptation of evidence-based parenting interventions for low-income Latinx populations in the US and Latin America.
Bianka Reese, PhD, MSPH is a research scientist and program evaluator specializing in adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her previous research in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her work as the Research and Evaluation Manager at SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led largescale evaluations of multilevel, community-based sexual health promotion initiatives and research projects aimed at elevating the voices of diverse youth in North Carolina. Dr. Reese is currently the Senior Research Strategist at Creative Research Solutions, LLC, an award-winning national evaluation, research, and assessment firm.
Tania Connaughton-Espino, MPH is an independent researcher focused on adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her interest in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her previous work with SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led the training and evaluation department, conducted capacity-building workshops for youth serving professionals including on the topic of how to be more affirming of LGBTQ youth, and from her extensive experience working with the Latinx population in NC.
Maru Gonzalez, EdD is an Assistant Professor and Youth Development Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University. Her areas of inquiry include youth development with a focus on activism, social justice, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ young people across familial, school, and community contexts. 
Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, PhD
Hector Y. Adames, PsyD