Jihan Daman

State: Michigan
Country of origin: Iraq
Arrival in the U.S.: 1985

Jihan Daman is the Refugee Congress Delegate for Michigan. She is a resettled refugee who came to the United States from Iraq with her family in 1985.

Today, she is founder and president of two social services agencies in Michigan: St. Rita Family Services Inc. and St. Rita Hands of Hope. Her agencies administer a variety of programs for new refugees, including a state program specifically for pregnant mothers – the Maternal Infant Health Program – and a self-designed program called Hope Healing and Trauma program (HHTP), which provides psychiatric services to refugees who have endured traumatic experiences.

Daman’s work running the Maternal Infant Health Program involves working with refugee mothers and their newborns to ensure they are healthy and health materials are available in their languages. She also organizes a donation center where refugees can receive used clothes, household items, baby items and more.

Daman holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s in clinical social work and a certification in “Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery Program for Refugees” from the Harvard Medical School.

She frequently participates in research projects focusing on Iraqi refugee teenagers, PTSD and other issues. She has written newsletters and articles, hosted a radio program on mental health and often gives presentations at community centers and schools on how to assist refugee families assimilating to their new environment.

Daman has also established a mental health clinic in northern Iraq to serve IDPs and refugees, including a number of Syrians living in Kurdistan.

Word for US: Justice