At a time when many refugee services in Texas are vanishing due to funding cuts and shifting policies, this small team has chosen to keep going — continuing to build healing spaces, one story and one drawing at a time.This project brings together a small but powerful network of people and programs committed to creating spaces where refugee women can reflect, imagine, and reconnect with the strength and vision already within them.

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Working Together for Impact

These pilots were made possible through the collaboration of Vickery Trading Company, the MOBI 1 Project, Yesterday Today Tomorrow-YTT, and Chrysalis Community. As part of Vickery Trading’s effort to integrate mental health into its new vocational training model, MOBI and Chrysalis provided consulting and clinical support to design and deliver YTT, an art-based mental health psychosocial support (MHPSS) intervention.  Together, this team created a safe space for refugee women to reflect, process, and imagine new possibilities for their future.

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​Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (YTT)

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (YTT) is a global non-profit founded in Paris in 2017 by Irish artist Bryan McCormack–inspired by an exhibition of refugee children’s art. Its inception followed a thought-provoking exhibition he did, as part of the 57th International Venice Biennale, showcasing the artistic creations of thousands of refugee children. McCormack is the visionary behind the YTT intervention itself—a trauma-informed, art-based mental health and psychosocial support model that weaves creativity into the fabric of healing. Active in France, Uganda, Italy, and the U.S., YTT uses drawing, storytelling, and theater to help displaced communities reflect on the past, connect with the present, and imagine a hopeful future. Its approach fosters belonging, resilience, and peace-building—and is now being clinically adapted for refugee mental health programming in the U.S.

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Vickery Trading Company

Vickery Trading equips refugee women for long-term success through vocational training, personal development, and fair wages. Their program offers hands-on job skills, English language support, digital and financial literacy, and now, integrated mental health programming — all designed to bridge barriers to economic independence and workplace readiness.

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Chrysalis Community

Chrysalis Community is an extension of the Chrysalis Center, providing trauma-informed mental health care and community support in North Texas. For this pilot, Chrysalis contributed clinical expertise and co-facilitation support, expanding the capacity for YTT implementation and participant care. 

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The MOBI 1 Project

The MOBI 1 Project is a consulting initiative that designs and implements scalable mental health programs for communities affected by forced migration. MOBI supports organizations in building sustainable mental health program integrations through social work Practicum programs, and develops tailored clinical interventions for agency settings.