Built from lived
experience, shaped
by compassion.
Merkuz was created to close the gap between mental health needs and culturally grounded support.
Merkuz Holistic Mental Health and Wellness Center was founded through the lived experience of our founder, Menbere Abere, who spent over a decade as a caregiver for loved ones living with mental health conditions. Her personal journey ignited a deep commitment to support others — especially those from underrepresented communities — who are navigating similar challenges.
Located in the Greater Bay Area, Merkuz was created to serve individuals and families from East African backgrounds, including Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Somalian diaspora communities. Many of these families face unique barriers to mental health care due to cultural stigma, language differences, and a general distrust of health systems.
A 2022 study by the American Psychological Association highlighted that children and families who have experienced migration-related trauma often encounter significant obstacles in accessing mental health support. Merkuz was founded to help bridge that gap.
We offer culturally sensitive, language-specific services that recognize the central role of family and community in healing. Our work addresses issues related to mental health, substance use, and emotional well-being — with a particular focus on helping immigrant communities adjust to life in the U.S. We understand the emotional and psychological challenges that come with resettlement and aim to provide the support and tools needed not just to survive, but to thrive.
At Merkuz, we walk alongside our clients as they begin a new chapter — grounded in culture, supported by family, and empowered to heal.
የእኛ ታሪክ
የምርኩዝ ሁለንተናዊ የአእምሮ ጤና እና ደህንነት ማእከል የተመሰረተው የመስራቻችንን ከ10 አመት በላይ የአዕምሮ ጤና ችግር ላለባቸው የቅርብ ቤተሰቦች አስታማሚ እና ረዳት በመሆን ባሳለፉት በግል ጉዞ ምክንያት ያገኙትን ልምድ መሰረት በማድረግ ያገኙትን ልምድ ለሌሎች ለማካፈል ነው።
ማእከሉ የተወለደው በካሊፎረኒያ ግዛት በሳንታ ክላራ ካውንቲ ውስጥ ከአእምሮ ህመም ሁኔታዎች ጋር ለሚታገሉ በተለይም ከምስራቅ አፍሪካ (ኢትዮጵያውያን፣ ኤርትራዊ፣ ሶማሊያውያን፣ ወዘተ) ብዙ ግለሰቦች ለመርዳት ካለው ራዕይ ነው።
በ2022 የአሜሪካ የሥነ ልቦና ማኅበር ባደረገው ጥናት፣ በዩናይትድ ስቴትስ የሚኖሩ ሕፃናትና ቤተሰቦች ከስደት ጋር ተያይዞ ጉዳት የደረሰባቸው ሕፃናትና ቤተሰቦች ለጉዳት የሚያጋልጡ እንቅፋቶችን አግኝተዋል። ምርኩዝ ይህንን ክፍተት ለማስተካከል እና የማህበረሰቡ አባላት የአእምሮ ጤናን፣ የአደንዛዥ እፅን አላግባብ መጠቀምን እና ስሜታዊ ደህንነትን ለመፍታት እንሰራለን።
ተልእኳችን ወገኖቻችን አዲስ ጉዞ ሲጀምሩ ከአዲሱ ሃገራቸው እንዲሁም ከአካባቢያቸው ግር በተሻለ ሁኔታ እንዲግባቡና እና እንዲያድጉ ነው።