Resources Mental health and support groups
Help for survivors of torture, violence or persecution
Where in New York to get care after torture and violence, and which programs examine people for free and write a medical or psychological report for an asylum case.
A report for your case and treatment are different services. A specialist writes the report after an exam, and your lawyer files it with your case. Treatment (therapy and medical care) is separate.
QARAVAN does not provide legal services: we refer people and write support letters. Program terms are as of November 2026 and change.
Start here
- If you are in danger right now, call 911. If you are in emotional crisis, call 988 and say "Russian": an interpreter joins.
- If you were tortured outside the US, write to the Libertas Center for Human Rights at info@libertascenter.net: briefly what happened to you and how to reach you.
- Your lawyer requests a doctor's or psychologist's report for an asylum case, and it can take months. Ask your lawyer to start early.
Make sure you are safe first
If you or someone else is in danger right now, call 911. If you are in emotional crisis and thinking of hurting yourself, call 988: free, 24/7; say "Russian" and an interpreter joins.
Contact the Libertas Center for Human Rights
The center at Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens helps people tortured outside the US: medical care and therapy, referrals for food, housing and clothing, referrals to lawyers. Write to info@libertascenter.net with how to reach you. Open Mon–Fri 9 am–5 pm.
If you were told about the Bellevue program, check it first
You may be referred to the Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture. WNYC radio reported that NYC Health + Hospitals plans to close it.
Ask your lawyer to request the evaluation early
A doctor or psychologist can examine you and write a report your lawyer adds to your asylum case. In all four programs your lawyer makes the request (to find a free lawyer, see the "Immigration and asylum" guide). It takes time: Physicians for Human Rights asks for requests at least 12 weeks before the deadline, and the Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights says it can take up to four months.
Prepare with your lawyer and go to the evaluation
Your lawyer sends the specialist a draft of your written account (declaration); at Weill Cornell, at least a week before the exam, or it is canceled. At Weill Cornell and Physicians for Human Rights the lawyer finds the interpreter. At Weill Cornell psychological exams are mostly on Zoom, physical and gynecological ones at an office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. With Physicians for Human Rights the exam is at the specialist's office, or in a detention center if the person is held there. The Mount Sinai Human Rights Program also examines people in detention.
After the evaluation your lawyer files it
The specialist writes a sworn report (affidavit) and sends it to your lawyer; at Weill Cornell, within two weeks. Your lawyer files it with USCIS or the immigration court (EOIR). Sometimes the specialist is asked to testify.
Look after yourself in these days
Talking about what happened is hard, even when your case needs it. Decide in advance who you will talk to after the exam, and keep the evening for something calm and familiar. If you feel overwhelmed, call 988.
Terms as of November 2026
| Libertas Center for Human Rights | Mount Sinai Human Rights Program | Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights | Physicians for Human Rights Asylum Network | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free; the center says such a service usually costs $3,500 or more | Free (pro bono) | — | Free (pro bono) |
| Who it is for | For people tortured by officials outside the US; eligibility is checked first | For people seeking asylum in the US who survived torture or other human rights abuses, including people in detention | Asylum cases only; the person must be in New York State | For people who fled persecution; a place for every case is not guaranteed |
| Timing | — | Expedited reports are possible | Up to four months from request to report | Request at least 12 weeks before the deadline |
| What the lawyer does | Sends the referral form, legal intake form and the client's personal statement to info@libertascenter.net | Fills in the request form on the program's site | Writes to wcchr@med.cornell.edu, then sends the consent form and the client's draft declaration (a week before the exam) and finds a certified interpreter | Fills in the request form, books the client with the specialist, finds an interpreter and sends the specialist the client's declaration |
Libertas Center for Human Rights
Any status
For people tortured outside the US: therapy (individual, group, art therapy), psychiatry and medical care at Elmhurst Hospital Center, referrals for food, housing, clothing and to lawyers. The center is part of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Write to info@libertascenter.net with how to reach you. There is also a short referral form in English (name, phone, email, gender, date of birth) that someone helping you can fill in: forms.gle/6FsnDwx8RcKFGkYw6. If you qualify, your lawyer can request a free medical and psychological report.
Mount Sinai Human Rights Program
Asylum applicants
An Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai program: free (pro bono) medical, psychological and gynecological exams for people seeking asylum in the US who survived torture or other human rights abuses, including people in detention. Exams are trauma-informed and follow the Istanbul Protocol. The program also connects people with social services and further medical and mental health care. The lawyer requests through the website form.
Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights
Asylum applicants
A center at Weill Cornell Medicine where doctors and psychologists do psychological, physical and gynecological exams for asylum cases. The person must be in New York State. Psychological exams are mostly remote, physical ones at an office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The lawyer sends the request by email.
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) Asylum Network
Asylum applicants
A network of volunteer doctors and psychologists who examine people who fled persecution for free (pro bono) and write a report for the case. The lawyer fills in the request form at least 12 weeks before the deadline; the program matches a specialist from those who respond and can't guarantee a place for everyone. Then the lawyer books you and finds an interpreter.
Sanctuary for Families
Any statusFree
For adults, teens and children who survived domestic or partner violence, trafficking, forced marriage and other gender-based violence: counseling, shelter, legal help including immigration. Whatever your gender, orientation, family situation or status; free and confidential. Walk in to a Family Justice Center in any of the five boroughs, Mon–Fri 9 am–5 pm: lawyers and counselors, Sanctuary's among them, work there and bring in an interpreter. At any hour, you can write in Russian to the SafeChat: www.safehorizon.org/safechat/. If you are in danger, call 911 and say "Russian".
- Forensic evaluation
- An exam by a doctor or psychologist, after which the specialist writes whether the signs of torture or the person's condition fit their account. The lawyer adds the report to the case.
- Affidavit
- A text signed under oath; a doctor's or psychologist's report takes this form.
- Declaration
- The person's account of what happened to them, prepared with the lawyer.
- Asylum
- Protection in the United States for people who fled persecution in their home country.
- USCIS
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: the federal agency that decides immigration applications, including asylum.
- EOIR
- The Executive Office for Immigration Review, the federal immigration courts, part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
- Family Justice Center
- A City center in every borough where you can walk in on weekdays if you have survived domestic or gender-based violence; Sanctuary for Families staff work there too.
- Pro bono
- Free: specialists work without payment from the client.
- Trauma-informed
- The specialist understands how violence affects a person and handles the conversation with care.
- Istanbul Protocol
- International guidelines on how to examine people and document signs of torture.
- Detention center
- A place where US immigration authorities hold a person while their case is decided.
This is general information, not legal advice: QARAVAN has no lawyers. QARAVAN does not help anyone enter the US and cannot arrange visas, invitations, sponsorship or evacuation. For your own case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice.