Twa Zanmi (Three Friends) | New Routes | Using local media made by immigrants to improve the health of immigrants

Twa Zanmi (Three Friends)

Haitian community members creating a soap opera to address mental health issues.

Update

Video and Photos from Twa Zanmi Haitian Immigrant Health Event - New Routes Visit 2008

Click on the link to watch video of speakers from our kick-off event in which the New Routes staff visited HAPHI and met community members. ... Read More

Twa Zanmi poster in Creole The Twa Zanmi Project will nurture a new Haitian immigrant community production team to produce and market a “Telenovela” program. The objective is to familiarize the Haitian community with the real experiences of immigrants living with depression and anxiety as an understandable result of acculturative stress.

The Twa Zanmi Project will generate a community dialogue about mental health, with the goal of developing health ambassadors in the community, decreasing stigma associated with mental illness, and promoting service access.

Partners: Haitian American Public Health Initiative, Haitian Media Network, Institute for Community Inclusion

Project Media

New Routes is Making Media, Video 06:08 >>

Twa Zanmi Premiers Demo Film of Project Telenovela, Video 13:35 >>

Twa Zanmi Video - Kick-off Event, Video 12:33 >>

New Routes Video Rough Cut - Twa Zanmi's Plans for Healing in the Boston Haitian Community, Video 06:58 >>

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More project blogs

Hi Sara,It would be a great

Submitted by Susan Foley on June 5, 2008 - 11:52am.

Hi Sara,It would be a great pleasure to connect and see if we can help each other. I fear we have no great solutions as yet as we are also in a learning process. Nearly every culture imposes people with mental illnesses with a high degree of isolation and shame. Anti-stigma campaigns in the US continue. Our long range goal is to reduce stigma, so we are focusing on creating dialogue in various forms and getting out the message that mental illness is treatable, preventable, and anyone can have it. I’m sending on to you summaries of our focus groups in February. We had two large groups, one of professionals and various community leaders and the other community members largely Haitian who have recently entered the US. During the second group, we had an improvised sketch that seven or so Haitian men and women introduced the issues. Quite lively. We are rather convinced that we need to “put a face” to mental illness, relay information in stories rather than through experts, and talk about symptoms rather than disorders. This may be more in tune with Haitian culture than Somali as the role of experts may be very different. The trick will be to convey an entertaining and engaging story line that provides accurate information rather subtly. Perhaps we could look at this issue further through our conference call and in-person visits? I’m looking forward to talking on June 9th. Please feel free to call us! I’ve included Dr. Renald Raphael on this email. He led the focus groups and is leading the charge for the Twa Zanmi Project and he is deeply committed to this issue. Susan

Sara Rohde Egal Shidad

Submitted by Sara Rohde on June 4, 2008 - 10:45am.

Sara Rohde Egal Shidad Coordinator

Hello Twa Zanmi Team,

I am very intrigued by your project, and especially in how you are addressing stigma and service access. Egal Shidad is working on these issues too, so I would love to learn more about what you are doing. Even if our audiences are not the same, you might have some really helpful information. We need ideas on stigma and service access. Do you have any tips for us?

Thank you,

Sara

Friendly faces!

Submitted by Brenda González on January 21, 2008 - 8:26pm.

Thank you friends from Twa Zanmi. The New Routes National Program Office staff is looking forward to getting to know more about the program, about your community and the people that will be involved in this wonderful partnership. Stay warm! Brenda González New Routes Deputy Director