Each year, thousands of survivors or torture and other severe human rights abuses flee persecution in their home countries, seeking asylum and other protections in the United States. Founded in 1993, HealthRight International’s Human Rights Clinic (HRC) trains and deploys a network of volunteer medical and mental health professionals to provide forensic evaluations that document the effects of torture and abuse in support of survivors’ applications for asylum or other immigrant relief. These evaluations can often be the deciding factor in whether a survivor is able to remain in the U.S. free of torture and abuse. They also often serve as the very first point of contact that an immigrant survivor has with a healthcare provider in the U.S., and can be critical in linking survivors with further care. The HRC is currently active in the New York metro area.
To date, the HRC has trained over 1,600 volunteer clinicians across the country and served nearly 6,000 survivors from over 140 countries. 90 percent of HRC clients are granted immigration relief such as asylum, while fewer than 40 percent of those seeking asylum nationally are granted.