NYU Gallatin Global Fellowship in Human Rights Blog

Madeline

Looking Back, Moving Forward

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Madeline Cohodes /
Bellevue Hospital Program for Survivors of Torture /
New York, USA /

As this summer comes to a close, reflecting on the work I have done at PSOT is certainly bitter-sweet. The Program has continued to assist current clients and intake nearly two new clients a week. Between writing asylum applications, providing therapy, coordinating social services, and keeping up all the daily operational tasks, there is never a dull moment at Bellevue. Yet, all the day-to-day accomplishments seem overshadowed by broader national challenges.
 
Nearly every day, the New York Times notifies me of another announcement on immigration policy in the United States, like how President Biden continues to keep Trump-Era policies in place ). Or, Vice President Harris discussing refugees at the Southern Border and how they should stay in their home countries. I wonder if she understands that she isn’t just speaking to Guatemalans, she’s telling refugees from Burkina Faso, Chad, and Guinea who have traveled across continents and oceans, that they should simply go home too.
 
 While PSOT and other centers like ours collect demographic data and work with national-level agencies on policy, sometimes the most basic facts are seemingly ignored. Compiling all of this information only to have it swept aside can be disheartening. Yet, I do hold out hope that continued advocacy efforts will make a difference. This fellowship has introduced me to previous generations of critical human rights theorists, but it has also shown me a new generation of activists, who may have different goals but similar values. Reading my peers’ blog posts and seeing their work in action has reminded me that we all face challenges in our respective fields, but we can also look to each other as a source of motivation to continue uphill battles, this summer and beyond.

 

 

The Balancing Act

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Madeline Cohodes /
Bellevue Hospital Program for Survivors of Torture / 
New York, USA /

As the summer progresses, I have certainly developed a deeper understanding and appreciation for PSOT. My daily schedule normally consists of waking up at six in the morning to fit in three hours of studying for the MCAT before heading over to Bellevue. The dichotomy between the mundane routine of studying for the test that helps determine medical school acceptance and then the constantly changing environment of the hospital couldn’t be more apparent.

Each day brings new clients, different operational projects, and a revolving door of emotions. On one particularly stressful day, I was ruminating on the pressure of MCAT and trying to focus my attention on finishing a grant with a quickly approaching deadline. It was one of the few times that I’ve brushed against what emotional burnout in the human rights field feels like. Even as an intern who isn’t directly involved in therapeutic contact with patients, reading trauma narratives and compartmentalizing life stories to data points can take its toll. 

At that moment, a new mother walked in with her one-month-old. This mother is one of the lucky ones. She started out in Brazil, newly pregnant, and journeyed with her husband across the Dairen Gap all the way to Mexico. More and more of our clients have made this journey and recount the horrendous amount of the robberies, rapes, and murders they’ve witnessed deep in the rainforests. Most clients say that that experience was worse than the torture they endured in their home countries.
 
The client who walked in endured all of that pain, only to be detained once she got to the US, and yet, here she was. I walked over to say hi and hold her daughter for a minute. It was a small moment, but it reminded me that it’s the little moments that encourage most people to keep going. There will always be stresses and pressures in life; for me, the MCAT will only be the first of many in my medical career. However, the ability to balance stressors while simultaneously enjoying the daily miracles that occur in the PSOT hallway has been the most important lesson I’ve picked up this summer.

From Micro to Macro: How Perspective Can Impact Policy

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Madeline Cohodes /
Bellevue Hospital Program for Survivors of Torture / 
New York, USA /

It has officially been one year since I began interning at Bellevue PSOT. Throughout this time, I have worked on a variety of operations projects, many of which have been focused on assisting our client base during the COVID-19 pandemic. Coincidentally, as my fellowship began this summer, PSOT was also placed in a new position as our executive director, Dr. Hawthorne Smith, was elected president of the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Providers. This allowed us to work on national-level research projects along with policy and advocacy efforts.

So far, the topic that has interested me the most is the confluence of research and policy/advocacy. In order to effectively promote policy to legislators and community leaders, data on the subject is typically required. Therefore, it takes plenty of conversations to decide what needs to researched and how that can be repurposed as a policy tool. For instance, a current priority is expanding the U.S. government’s definition of torture to include survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, those who suffer torture related to LGBTQI identities, and those who experienced gang-related torture.

Compiling data on the number of of our clients who fit these categories is the first step in the arduous process of convincing the U.S. government to change its policy. However, with this fairly simple structure of obtaining data and using it for advocacy, the individual needs of survivors can be overlooked. Often mentioned is how to transfer information into the hands of survivors so it may be used not only for national platforms but also in local communities.

While change on the federal level can sound more important and impactful when working in large human rights organizations, it seems prudent to think about how the microcosm of each NCTTP clinic can also benefit from this research. For example, having a clear demographic summary of a clinic population could assist directors in reaching out to marginalized groups in their local community that may not be accessing services. Or, it could provide them with the incentive to strengthen ties with community groups of their most-served populations in order to reach anyone that may be hesitant about joining or just unaware of the program. Either way, having a vast array of readily available information can have a variety of benefits.

Research and data collection aren’t typically buzzwords in the human rights field. Yet, my year so far at PSOT has shown me that when used correctly, there are infinite ways to improve not only the program’s operations but also assist individual clients. Whether that’s working on a macro or a micro scale, the intersection of research and policy/advocacy has become a surprisingly critical facet of my daily work at the Program. And as for national-level outreach, we can only keep trying with the confidence that our voices (and data) will be heard.

PSOT: A Multifaceted Approach To Care

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Madeline Cohodes /
Bellevue Hospital Program for Survivors of Torture / 
New York, USA

My name is Madeline Cohodes and I have just finished my third year as a dual-degree BA/MPH student. My undergraduate Gallatin concentration focuses on extrapolating issues found in healthcare to broader societal contexts, and my master’s concentration is in public health policy. 

This summer, I will continue my current internship at the Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture (PSOT), a nonprofit that supports people affected by torture, a human rights violation. Torture can inflict not only physical but psychological and emotional pain, and PSOT works with immigrant and refugee communities to provide medical, social, legal, and mental health services. The program’s medical/mental health components include a multifaceted combination of primary care and referrals to trauma-informed therapists, psychiatrists, and group therapy.

All of these services work to restore and improve our clients’ health. More broadly, the services address issues beyond basic medical assistance, such as how to achieve a stable immigration status, adequate housing, and an overarching sense of safety. Such things are necessary for most people to feel healthy mentally, or at least feel secure enough to focus on their mental health. Furthermore, fiscal stability is necessary in the context of the American healthcare system to gain access to non-emergency care.

PSOT assists in stabilizing these critical needs and providing further assistance with clients’ needs. The work my colleagues and I do at PSOT helps to ensure that the human right to health encompasses all aspects of wellbeing.

As the operations and development intern at PSOT, I will continue this summer to assist clients with scheduling appointments in all of these areas. I will also refer clients to grants that compensate people impacted by COVID-19 and will monitor new clients’ cases so that I can connect them to necessary resources. Additionally, I will assist with grant writing and research projects.