ASAP Partner Spotlight: MSHRP

The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP) is proud to partner with the Mount Sinai Human Rights Program (MSHRP), a program led by mental health professionals committed to providing pro bono services for survivors of human rights abuses. For the past two and a half years, ASAP and MSHRP have worked together to provide and promote free psychological evaluations for asylum seekers. Psychological evaluations are essential pieces of evidence in immigration cases, and can often mean the difference between winning and losing a case. However, for families in hard-to-reach places—like many of ASAP’s clients—having access to a mental health professional who can conduct a psychological evaluation in person is unlikely.

That’s why ASAP and MSHRP have collaborated with amazing medical professionals such as Dr. Craig Katz and Dr. Elizabeth Singer to provide remote psychological evaluations for families in remote or isolated regions who might not otherwise have access to mental health resources. In addition, ASAP’s co-founders have spoken at various clinics and trainings to educate hundreds of health professionals on the mental health challenges faced by asylum-seeking families and the urgent need for remote psychological evaluations. Together, ASAP and MSHRP are committed to ensuring that all asylum-seeking families, no matter where they are located in the United States, have the resources they need to fight their cases.

Dr. Elizabeth Singer, MSHRP Director, shared: “ASAP and the MSHRP share the same mission: to protect human rights and advocate for those who have faced unspeakable violence and torture. We have learned from the legal expertise and empathy of their staff and, together, have established a sense of teamwork in engaging with some of the most marginalized communities who face legal uncertainty and carry physical and emotional scars. We are privileged to work with ASAP, an organization that is a leader in the field of human rights work, and one which embraces some of the most challenging cases in resource poor areas of the country.”