The Fresno Hmong community is an ethnic and cultural community. In Fresno, Hmong American is one of the largest ethnic groups. The Hmong are refugees. The United States recruited the Hmong to fight in the secret war against the Pathet Lao. After the United States withdrew from the war, thousands of Hmong were killed by the Pathet Lao or were forced to abandon their homes, lands, and livestock in Laos and fled to the refugee camps in Thailand. This resulted in the immigration of the Hmong settling in the United in the 1970’s. Hmong families have been able to adapt themselves to new changes and new environments. Through perseverance, they were able to survive when they were forced to abandon their villages in Laos to settle down in the mountains of Laos, escape to Thailand by crossing over the Mekong River, and when they immigrated to the United States in fear of persecution. The need and problem in the Fresno Hmong community is mental health and substance abuse. The mental health rate among Hmong has been found to be high compare to other Western population. The major cause of mental health diagnosis is linked to traumatic war related events that they had experienced back in their homeland and acculturation changes in the United …show more content…
Hmong tend to use substance like opium, alcohol and illegal drugs to cope. World Health Organization (WHO) refers to substance abuse as “the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol and illicit drugs” (WHO, 2015). It is necessary for counselors and mental health professional to understand the basic history knowledge of drugs, reasons why substance abuse users do drugs, and the process of treatment in order to help effectively counsel substance abuse individuals. The goal for counseling, substance abuse client is to help the client resolve or cope with a problem in a way that is meaningful then relying on substance abuse to help them cope. The use of alcohol is