News:
Local Group Recognizes International Torture Survivor Day
June 25,
2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kathleen Cordova, Development Director
(408) 975-2730 or
kathleen.cordova@aaci.org
LOCAL GROUP RECOGNIZES INTERNATIONAL TORTURE SURVIVOR DAY
(San Jose, CA)
– Staff members from the San Jose–based Center for Survivors
of Torture (CST) and their colleagues from torture treatment
centers across the state will descend on the State Capitol
Tuesday to advocate for torture survivors living in
California.
June 26th
is the United Nations International Day in Support of
Victims of Torture. The first annual
Sacramento
advocacy day is the culmination of a campaign to raise
awareness that “Survivors Live Here.” June 26, 2007 marks
the 20th anniversary of June 26, 1987, the day
the UN first convened the Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Representatives
from CST and other members of the California Consortium of
Torture Treatment Centers, which includes Survivors of
Torture International in San Diego, Program for Torture
Victims in Los Angeles, and the Center for Justice &
Accountability and the Survivors International in San
Francisco; will meet with policy aides and state
legislators, including Assembly Members Jim Beall, Sally
Lieber, Ira Ruskin, and Alberto Torrico, and Senator Elaine
Alquist.
The U.S. government has estimated that there are
500,000 survivors of torture in the United States. California has one of the
highest populations of both undocumented and legal
immigrants, many of whom are victims of war trauma and
political torture. Politically –motivated torture is
practiced in more than 100 countries. Within California,
Santa Clara County is home to significantly high numbers of
immigrants, refugees and asylees; there is a clearly
established need for assistance and services to the
estimated 35,000 Santa Clara County individuals and families
affected by torture.
The
Center for Survivors of Torture (CST) a specialized program
of Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) provides
direct services to the large numbers of torture survivors
who reside in
Santa Clara and
neighboring counties. The full array of direct services
includes medical, economic, social, psychological and legal,
as well as indirect services such as training and education
for other service providers. The Center for Survivors of
Torture treats survivors of country or state sponsored
persecution, including survivors of genocide, war, domestic
violence, and hate crimes. Since the program’s
inception in 2001, CST has worked with more than 350 CST
provides specialized services to these torture survivors and
spreads awareness about this population and its specialized
needs to service providers including physicians, nurses,
social service workers, teaching professionals, employers,
lawyers and many others who affect the daily lives of the
survivor population. Sensitivity to torture survivors’
specialized needs and awareness of the issues they face go a
long way in their successful healing.
In
addition to Tuesday’s advocacy activities, this year as the
community reflects on the International Day in Support of
Victims of Torture, CST will host a family BBQ to take place
on Saturday, June 30, 2007 at
Willow
Street Frank Bramhall Park
in San Jose
from 1 pm to 4pm. The event is dedicated to all CST clients,
clinicians and partners for their resilience, courage and
great strength of character. Members of the community are
welcome to bring a potluck dish and to attend this “get
together celebration"- a celebration of new lives.
Asian
Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) is the largest
community-based organization focused on the Asian American
community in Santa Clara County. Focusing on the diverse
Asian American community, AACI’s mission is to improve the
health, mental health, and well-being of individuals and
their families by providing an array of human services. AACI
empowers the Asian American community by working
collaboratively for equality and social justice.
