Assistant Professor of Social Welfare Cindy Sangalang spoke to TimesOC for a report on the lack of culturally sensitive mental health care services for Orange County’s Vietnamese and Cambodian communities. Sangalang, whose research focuses on health and well-being in immigrant communities, said many Southeast Asian refugees have endured trauma at multiple points in their lives: before they migrated; when they arrived in the United States, adjusting to a new country; in the present, with a rise in deportations; and in moments throughout, amid continued socioeconomic insecurity. She added that it’s important to consider the U.S. role in the conflicts refugees fled. “For us to address the health, education and other needs of these populations, it’s really a way to think about the consequences of the war in that region and how it’s had these ripple effects, and why it’s important for us to address these needs.”