Since 2021, Bellwether has worked with the Free Yazidi Foundation to fund staffing and operations of a Women’s Trauma Center in Sheikhan. With Bellwether’s support, the center now provides support and mental health services for women and children recovering from the trauma of the ISIS occupation. Since implementing a new mental health program this year, 2022, the center now has several social workers trained in cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBT) techniques which are designed to help individuals and communities process complex trauma. In addition, this November, in collaboration with the University of Utah DNP Mental Health Program, Bellwether was thrilled to deliver mental health guide books to further assist our social workers and support post-genocide communities in Sheikhan and beyond.

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Finally, as part of our commitment to sharing the stories of resilience from the Yazidi community, Bellwether sponsored a category “Honoring Yazidi People and Culture” in its inaugural Freedom of Religion or Belief Art Contest. The first prize winner in this category, Mia Hampton Sadler, said of her piece:

“I am passionate about using art to inspire empathy and engage people in some of the most pressing issues of our time, including human rights, refugee care, and environmental conservation. In this piece, it was important to me to convey both the truth of the past, but also hope for the future, as seen specifically through the women who are impacted by genocide. The Yazidi woman in this piece has her eyes closed– burdened by the weight of the pain and suffering she has both endured and witnessed– but her face is turned toward the sky, under the light of a new day, with a sense of peace and hope for the future. She is surrounded by beautiful temples and foliage of the Garden of Eden to remind us of the rich history of the Yazidi people, and to symbolize how she stands on the shoulders of giants, the people who have come before her. The title is in honor of the meaning of the word Yazidi. I hope this artwork inspires us to remember that we are more than the pain we experience. We are agents for change. Weare hope and the future.”