“Huddled masses” doesn?t quite describe the plight anymore. But with blowtorch intensity, the jarring new release “Blood Diamond” does; and a local group ? which says that the Baltimore area has an a large number of this scourge?s victims ? quietly comforts the survivors of worldwide torture and trauma.
“We pick up where Amnesty International leaves off,” said Porthira Chhim, development director of Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma in Baltimore, adding that the inconspicuous facility is one of only two dozen in the country equipped to help people recover from the terror they?ve endured.
“We actually work with folks who make it to America and need support services when they arrive,” Chhim explained, “to really get a fair shake and start a new life for themselves. Torture survivors usually flee with few resources and have many needs such as housing, medical care, legal assistance for asylum applicants, language and vocational training.”
According to ASTT and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates, there are 400,000 survivors of torture in the United States today.
Established in 1995, the eight-person counseling, mental health and case management group treats and intercedes for about 200 clients per year from its home-like quarters, center coordinator Maria Brown said, and operates on an annual budget of $400,000.
It supports its torment-tempering work ? from six months to three years per client, depending on the case ? with a mix of funding from the federal government, the United Nations, the state of Maryland and private grants and donations.
And a variety of outreach methods are used, including group sessions which “help clients discuss what they?re experiencing and how to negotiate the [immigration] systems they have to deal with,” Brown said.
“Our process ? unless there?s a mental health crisis ? really tries to gauge what the client needs holistically,” Brown said, “So, when they come in, the case manager sits down and reviews everything ? living circumstances, food, shelter, social support, faith affiliation ? and then provides connections to the kind of services and groups [the clients] need. And some [clients] also get referred to us by lawyers who want psychological evaluations for court hearings for asylum [requests].”
According to United Nations estimates, 75 percent of member nations continue to practice torture in a systematic way.
