, with some of the higher tariffs on pause for 90 days.

Women in particular often suffer sexual violence on the journey. For many, the fear that they or someone in their families might be deported is revictimizing. That makes it imperative that “safe places” exist where they can focus on wellness, said Noeline Maldonado, executive director of The Healing Center, which helps domestic and sexual violence victims in Brooklyn, New York.Sessions that promote grounding and mindfulness are necessary to cope with the stress of both immediate crises as well as long-term unpredictability as immigration policies shift.

“Uncertainty is the biggest thing,” said Cheryl Aguilar, director of Hope Center for Wellness in the Washington, D.C., area, which has partnered with churches to provide mental health programs.Being in community and cultivating hope is crucial because many people are responding to fear with rising anxiety, traumatic symptoms and isolation, all of which can have lasting consequences, Aguilar added.“It’s nonstop work, nonstop fear,” said Sarah Howell, a clinical social worker in Houston with more than a decade of experience in migration-related trauma. “Every issue seems bigger.”

Howell said many of her clients in Texas are realizing they can’t live in a state of constant alarm, and the respite that wellness programs can bring becomes essential.“People feel hopeless, but they have to keep fighting,” said Guadalupe Gonzalez, one of the bilingual Reiki practitioners whose organization, Odigo Wellness, partnered with St. Paul’s in Minneapolis to offer the sessions.

She said she had some doubts about offering these healing practices inside a church — a large space with light flooding in and people moving through.

“But the sanctuary has a very nice, very positive energy,” Gonzalez said. “As practitioners we feel a lot of emotions.”Father Simon tolls the bell to summon monks and visitors to afternoon prayers at the Simonopetra, or Simonos Petra Monastery, home of the all-male autonomous community of Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain, on the peninsula of Mount Athos in northern Greece, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Father Makarios shows a 1744 map depicting the Simonopetra, or the Simonos Petra Monastery, home of the all-male autonomous community Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain, on the peninsula of Mount Athos in northern Greece, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)Father Makarios shows a 1744 map depicting the Simonopetra, or the Simonos Petra Monastery, home of the all-male autonomous community Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain, on the peninsula of Mount Athos in northern Greece, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Father Kosmas, left, and Father Nyfmon walk in the Simonopetra, or Simonos Petra Monastery, home of the all-male autonomous community Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain, on the peninsula of Mount Athos in northern Greece, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)Father Kosmas, left, and Father Nyfmon walk in the Simonopetra, or Simonos Petra Monastery, home of the all-male autonomous community Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain, on the peninsula of Mount Athos in northern Greece, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)