O U R M I S S I O N

The primary mission of the New York Medical College Center for Human Rights (NYMCCHR) is to promote health advocacy and human rights for asylum seekers in the US through the provision of pro-bono forensic medical evaluations.

O U R S T O R Y

In 2017, there were 8,759 reported cases of human trafficking in the US: 72% sex trafficking and 15% labor trafficking. In January 2019, the US had a backlog of 325,277 asylum cases. Asylum seekers must apply for asylum within one year of arrival, which involves interviews and court hearings. Possible outcomes are asylum granted or withholding of removal.

An integral part of the asylum application is an objective medical evaluation which details any physical, psychological and/or sexual abuse experienced in one’s home country or journey. For asylum seekers, application approvals jump from 37.5% without a medical evaluation to 94% with one. Furthermore, local human rights organizations in Westchester County indicate backlogs of trafficking/asylum cases from the area.

The NYMC Center for Human Rights was founded in 2017 and completed its first evaluation in 2018. As of 2020, NYMCCHR has completed over twenty interviews and evaluations for asylum seekers by partnering with My Sister’s Place, a local human rights organization. Physicians for Human Rights, and several generous healthcare providers have volunteered alongside NYMC students to draft affidavits.

W H A T W E D O

Asylum Evaluations

We conduct psychological and medical evaluations for asylum seekers and sex- and labor-trafficked victims in Westchester County. We work closely with various human rights organizations in the region to aid asylum seekers in their legal journey for safety in the United States.

Advocacy & Events

We plan events addressing human rights issues in the community through outreach and collaboration with local organizations, community health centers, and clinical care networks.

Research

We are interested in researching effective approaches to treating victims of human rights abuses through documentation of client case outcomes and community surveys, in the hopes that this will help providers be better informed on how to best address their medical and social needs.

L E A D E R S H I P 2 0 2 4 - 2 0 2 5

Rahim Hirani

Executive Director

Francesca Ricciardi

Case Manager

Ying liu

Executive Director

Talia Saal

Case Manager

F a c u l t y L E A D E R S H I P

2 0 2 3 - 2 0 2 4 E X E C U T I V E B O A R D M E M B E R S

Rahim Hirani

Kavya Tangella

Helen Ng

Jacob Fiedler

Yael Weitzner

Emily Zhang

Francesca Ricciardi

Talia Saal

Talia Ostrow

Anne Nguyen

Emily Sayegh

Trevor McHugh

Dawood Rashid

Matan Grunfeld

F A C U L T Y A D V I S O R

Rebecca Martin, MD

F A C U L T Y E V A L U A T O R S

Rebecca Martin, MD

Rebecca Dulit, MD

Lidia Klepacz, MD

Dominic Ferro, MD

Nicki Reno-Welt, PA

Carol Kessler, MD

Lynne Hoffman, MD

Kathryn Spanknebel, MD

Paul Ostrovsky, MD

Rebecca Pagan, MD

Patricia DeLaMora, MD

Edward Merker, MD

Melissa Hazlitt, MD

P A R T N E R O R G A N I Z A T I O N S

My Sister’s Place

Physicians for Human Rights

Take Root Justice

Neighbor’s Link

Center for Safety and Change

Legal Services of Hudson Valley

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP