The Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life Lecture: “Refugees, Immigrants, and Mental Health”
**Events may have been canceled or postponed. Please contact the venue to confirm the event.
Date & Time
Wed, Jan 21 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Address (map)
Humanities and Social Sciences Building, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
Venue (website)
McCune Conference Room
The Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion, and Public Life will present “Healing Together: Refugees, Immigrants, and Mental Health,” a lecture by Mona Afary, on January 21, 2026, at 5:00pm at UCSB’s McCune Conference Room (HSSB 6020). This event is free and open to the public.
The Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants (CERI) is a humanist, feminist, trauma-informed community mental health center devoted to supporting refugees and immigrants as they rebuild their lives with dignity, strength, and renewed possibility. In this talk, Mona Afary will discuss how healing unfolds in community through connection and shared humanity. CERI provides spaces where refugees and immigrants can speak their truth, mourn what has been lost, witness their own resilience reflected in others, and celebrate the empowerment that comes from being seen and valued.
Mona Afary, PhD, MFT, an immigrant from Iran, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants (CERI), a mental health community center in Oakland, CA. CERI was awarded a 2025 United Nations Global Citizenship Award as a testament to its commitment to justice, human rights, and building resilience across diverse ethnic and cultural communities in the East Bay.
This event is co-sponsored by UCSB’s Legal Humanities Initiative, and funded through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
https://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/news/healing-together-refugees-immigrants-and-mental-health-mona-afary
