Improving Access to Mental Health Resources for Refugees in Durham

Global health student Michelle Rojas says community partners and academics share the same goals and benefit from collaborations

Michelle

Published October 23, 2020, last updated on November 11, 2020 under Student Stories

Instead of heading to Tanzania for an internship this past summer, COVID-19 kept second-year global health masters student, Michelle Rojas, in Durham. Rojas is interested in mental health — looking at it through a global lens. In Tanzania, she had planned to collaborate with Duke partners who help support youth living with HIV. Instead, one of her Duke Global Health Institute mentors, Sumedha Ariely, worked with Rojas to find an opportunity closer to home that focused on supporting the mental health needs of refugees living in Durham. 

Watch a video Rojas produced to learn more about her project:

I couldn't go to Tanzania, but it opened a door for me to explore mental health issues right here in Durham

Michelle Rojas — Masters of science in global health candidate '21