Hmong leaders hope to save mental health care center Kajsiab House
Wisconsin State JournalSep 05, 2018
Hmong community leaders and elders spoke at a news conference Tuesday about the importance of the Kajsiab House's services and staff specializing in Hmong culture. The center will close
Journey announced the decision to close Kajsiab (pronounced ka-shee-ah) House last month.
Speaking through a translator,
"Everything on a daily basis surrounding my life depends on Kajsiab House," Xiong said. "Without Kajsiab House, I won't have any support and I don't know what will happen."
Many Hmong elders in
Journey President and CEO
"If we don't take care of these deficits, we won't have any services to provide," Brady said.
One factor in Kajsiab House's closure was the decision by
Kajsiab House clients did not know about the new transportation provider,
Since then, Journey has continued to provide transportation without reimbursement from Medicaid, something Brady has said is not a long-term solution.
Her said the Hmong community would have welcomed the opportunity to work with Journey to find a solution that would keep Kajsiab House open, particularly since many Hmong elders don't know what they will do without the center.
Their hope is that in 2019, Kajsiab House can become its own nonprofit and contract with
Kajsiab House not only provides mental health care and services including help applying for citizenship and locating housing, it also provides a safe and welcoming community space where clients can speak Hmong with one another, cook and eat familiar foods and socialize, Her said.
"They all established Kajsiab House so we could come together and be stress free," Thao said.
Brady said clients of Kajsiab House will still be able to see mental health care providers through other clinics or locations, which she acknowledged is a difficult change for some.
Journey will also continue searching for a new centralized location for Hmong clients, although it may not look like or function exactly as Kajsiab House does.
"We were not just closing Kajsiab House and walking away," Brady said.
Her said the
"We need to keep these doors open so they know what the next day holds for them," Her said.
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