When aging, it is sometimes inevitable that older adults have a life without much company. Sometimes this happens because of their children have other responsibilities as parents and have to take care of their own families. Also, in the case of older adults who are immigrants, when getting older they are disconnected from their networks and family members in their country of origin. In many cases, this isolation ends up generating chronic episodes of depression. Likewise, the life of the elderly is usually accompanied by many economic concerns, especially when it comes to immigrants with limited resources, who did not accumulate a sufficient pension to meet their basic needs. Not being able to pay the house bills or the costs of their health bills generates a lot of anxiety. In the case of most of our participants, who are first-generation immigrants, linguistic isolation is added to all of the above. Feeling that they cannot communicate well with the society that surrounds them or that they cannot function as they normally do is a very common stress generator in immigrants. To handle these situations, VIDA offers daily individual counseling and group counseling aimed at training older adults to manage stress and anxiety. We try to break the taboo barrier and understand that we all are exposed to situations of anxiety and that in the midst of problems, we must have tactics that help us relieve tensions. And to complement group and individual counseling, Vida also offers daily Tai-chi exercise classes, in which older adults learn to breathe and relax the tensions that manifest in their body. Vida Senior Centers puts special emphasis on mental health, because this can trigger other effects on the well-being of the person. When the situation requires the intervention of a doctor, Vida Senior Centers refers the participant to a specialized center. For this, VIDA has been coordinating with several local organizations specialized in mental health medical treatments. In summary, the activities offered as part of our Mental Health program are as follows:

• Individual counseling to handle stress situations
• Group counseling on frustration management techniques
• Tai-Chi exercises to learn to breathe and relax the body
• Classes on Positive Thinking
• Classes on Mental and Emotional Health
• Referral to doctors if the need is identified