A military veteran and soon-to-be social worker says mental health advocacy is one of his most important missions, especially among Black and brown communities.
Sergeant Nebiyou Masresha spent eight years with the Army National Guard and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012.
“For me, it was coming back,” he said. “Coming back from deployment and having to deal with mental health issues.”
The veteran was dealing with PTSD and a social worker stepped in to help him with his VA benefits.
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“That’s what drove me to wanting to become a social worker. Because it was a social worker who actually helped me navigate the system,” Masresha said.
He took off on a new mental health mission of advocacy for veterans, immigrants and people of color. After 10 years in the community, he’s landed here at Quinnipiac University where he’s preparing to graduate from the Master of Social Work program.
“We are a small program, but it is more like, it felt like a family,” he said.
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Masresha said social workers are educators, therapists and advocates. Those are all roles he’s played over the years, including with the Compass response program in New Haven and helping veterans transition back home with a career fair in West Haven.
He recently won the title of student of the year by the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.
“It’s huge,” he said about the honor. “To be able to be recognized for [the work], it is a humbling experience.”
The area that needs the most mental health education, he says, is among communities of color.
“We put so much effort into physical health, but we don’t put as much effort into mental health,” Masresha said. “The Black and brown community goes through trauma, and we need to address those traumas.”
Masresha will graduate from Quinnipiac University in December, and he said he’s excited to continue his work in advocacy and mental health.
“The only way we’re going to be able to help our clients is if we have people who advocate and address policy changes," he said.
Between school, his community work and his family, we asked if he will be able to keep up the pace after graduation. He said one thing won’t ever change.
“My community advocacy work will never stop,” he said.
