Since the U.S. military’s evacuation from Afghanistan in 2021, political upheaval has led thousands of Afghan families to resettle in the United States. Many Afghan children and adolescents have experienced separation from and loss of loved ones, and service providers should understand how these losses impact Afghan youth clients’ overall mental health and wellbeing. This resource (generated with research from the Boston College School of Social Work’s Strengthening Afghan Evacuees: A Community Based Family Strengthening Intervention project and written in partnership with Switchboard) explains key concepts in understanding grief-related distress for newcomer Afghan youth, as well as best practices for supporting children, adolescents, and caregivers in processing their experiences.
