Holistic Care Fund for Refugees
Tax deductible
Dear Friends,
We need your assistance to help our refugee and asylum-seeking clients who have sought safety in the San Francisco Bay Area and are struggling to move out of poverty.
What we do
Partnerships for Trauma Recovery is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides trauma-informed, culturally aware and linguistically accessible mental health services for refugees, asylees and asylum seekers here in the Bay Area.
Who we serve
Our clients are refugees, asylum seekers and asylees who have survived war, torture, gender-based violence, human trafficking and persecution due to identity, sexual orientation and beliefs and now seek refuge in the San Francisco Bay Area .
THE PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS
Most of our clients live in extreme poverty, struggling with many challenges such as housing, employment, learning a new language and more, along with carrying the wounds of past traumatic experiences. Asylum seekers especially cannot legally work in the US and don't have access to social services while they wait for a determination on their status. As a result, they usually don't have the resources to provide for themselves and their families. Our holistic care model addresses not only their psychological needs, but these practical needs, as well. For that reason, all of our services are free.
However, that doesn't mean that there aren’t any costs for the client. We serve people who fall on the very low end of the socioeconomic scale, and sometimes, having to spend only couple of dollars can make a crucial difference in their lives.
Here are some examples of situations that have inspired us to create this Holistic Care Fund for Refugee Clients :
Transport
Jean-Philippe is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and hardly has a penny to his name. He needs psychosocial support so badly that he's committed to getting to our healing center for his weekly sessions, but doing so costs him $16 round trip on public transportation. Getting a discounted public transport pass can take up to a month to process and still only covers half this cost.
Food
One of our clinicians noticed that his client, a young Yemeni woman, looked faint and was slow in her responses. With a flash of insight, he asked her if she had eaten today. She shook her head slowly. Money was too tight to eat today. While we work with clients to familiarize them with local foodbanks, this still happens in sessions occasionally, especially when clients are working during foodbank hours.
Medicine
If our psychiatrist determines that a client would benefit from medication, we do everything in our power to make it as inexpensive as possible: coupons, discounts, generic brands, etc. However, as in the case of Fernando from El Salvador, sometimes even the remaining cost, which can be as much as $30, is too heavy for them to shoulder and they forgo the medicine, at the expense of their healing process.
This is where we need your help...
THE SOLUTION
We're hoping -with your help- to build a small fund for our clients to address these costs in order to provide holistic care. These are the expenses that are may seem insignificantly small, but they add up for clients.
Many of these costs are modest, but life-altering for the populations we serve. With this small fund, we could help our clients gain access to services that they have not been able to reach without a little extra assistance.
Help refugees, asylum seekers, and asylees access the care they need by making a contribution to Partnerships for Trauma Recovery’s Holistic Care Fund for these urgent, one-time needs.
We need your assistance to help our refugee and asylum-seeking clients who have sought safety in the San Francisco Bay Area and are struggling to move out of poverty.
What we do
Partnerships for Trauma Recovery is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides trauma-informed, culturally aware and linguistically accessible mental health services for refugees, asylees and asylum seekers here in the Bay Area.
Who we serve
Our clients are refugees, asylum seekers and asylees who have survived war, torture, gender-based violence, human trafficking and persecution due to identity, sexual orientation and beliefs and now seek refuge in the San Francisco Bay Area .
THE PROBLEM WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS
Most of our clients live in extreme poverty, struggling with many challenges such as housing, employment, learning a new language and more, along with carrying the wounds of past traumatic experiences. Asylum seekers especially cannot legally work in the US and don't have access to social services while they wait for a determination on their status. As a result, they usually don't have the resources to provide for themselves and their families. Our holistic care model addresses not only their psychological needs, but these practical needs, as well. For that reason, all of our services are free.
However, that doesn't mean that there aren’t any costs for the client. We serve people who fall on the very low end of the socioeconomic scale, and sometimes, having to spend only couple of dollars can make a crucial difference in their lives.
Here are some examples of situations that have inspired us to create this Holistic Care Fund for Refugee Clients :
Transport
Jean-Philippe is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and hardly has a penny to his name. He needs psychosocial support so badly that he's committed to getting to our healing center for his weekly sessions, but doing so costs him $16 round trip on public transportation. Getting a discounted public transport pass can take up to a month to process and still only covers half this cost.
Food
One of our clinicians noticed that his client, a young Yemeni woman, looked faint and was slow in her responses. With a flash of insight, he asked her if she had eaten today. She shook her head slowly. Money was too tight to eat today. While we work with clients to familiarize them with local foodbanks, this still happens in sessions occasionally, especially when clients are working during foodbank hours.
Medicine
If our psychiatrist determines that a client would benefit from medication, we do everything in our power to make it as inexpensive as possible: coupons, discounts, generic brands, etc. However, as in the case of Fernando from El Salvador, sometimes even the remaining cost, which can be as much as $30, is too heavy for them to shoulder and they forgo the medicine, at the expense of their healing process.
This is where we need your help...
THE SOLUTION
We're hoping -with your help- to build a small fund for our clients to address these costs in order to provide holistic care. These are the expenses that are may seem insignificantly small, but they add up for clients.
Many of these costs are modest, but life-altering for the populations we serve. With this small fund, we could help our clients gain access to services that they have not been able to reach without a little extra assistance.
Help refugees, asylum seekers, and asylees access the care they need by making a contribution to Partnerships for Trauma Recovery’s Holistic Care Fund for these urgent, one-time needs.
Organizer
Monika Parikh
Organizer
Berkeley, CA
Partnerships for Trauma Recovery
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
