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PLEASE JOIN US FOR CARING COMMUNITIES
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to flee your home and start life over in a new country? What challenges do survivors face as they rebuild their lives after torture?
Attend an informational session and learn about caring for the diverse needs of refugees and torture survivors living in Greater Boston. Check the dates below for upcoming sessions.
Please join us at our next Caring Communities informational session on Tuesday, Nov. 26th from 6pm - 7pm.
Register by emailing Robbie Adams at
BCRHHR staff at De Novo's Award Ceremony.
April 29, 2019, De Novo Center for Justice & Healing presented the 2019 Dr. Joseph H. Brenner Award to the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights (BCRHHR) at their annual Volunteer Appreciation event. The award was given in recognition of BCRHHR’s commitment to “providing compassionate, holistic medical care to immigrant and refugee survivors of torture or other trauma.” Dr. Lin Piwowarczyk, Director and Co-founder of BCRHHR, delivered a powerful acceptance speech on behalf of the team, highlighting the growing importance of community collaboration - between organizations, volunteers, and clients.
De Novo’s annual Volunteer Appreciation Event celebrated their vast professional volunteer base who help provide free legal assistance and affordable counseling to low-income individuals and families. The event this year drew “members of Greater Boston’s vibrant legal and social justice communities.” David H. Long, Liberty Mutual Chairman and CEO, presented the keynote address, telling attendees: “As someone who has been on the receiving end of that kind of generosity and goodwill, who knows what it’s like to be welcomed by strangers, and who, forty years later, can recall the mighty force of the kindness that comes when it’s needed the most – I thank you.” Alongside BCRHHR, the Coordinated Care Program for Political Violence Survivors at Cambridge Health Alliance was another recipient of the 2019 Dr. Joseph H. Brenner Award.
The Brenner award is named in honor of Dr. Joseph Brenner, who was a social justice advocate and psychiatrist. The Brenner Award celebrates community leaders and organizations that exemplify community service and volunteerism. As Dr. Lin poignantly stated as she accepted the award, “We are who we are because you are who you are.”
Dr. Lin Piwowarczyk with the Goldman Family.
Open Avenues Foundation presented it's 2018 Humanitarian Award to Dr. Lin Piwowarczyk at the “Response to Migrant Family Separation Crisis Fundraiser” on September 27, 2018 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Boston for her twenty years of work providing mental health services to refugees and survivors of torture. Co-founder and Director of the Boston Center for Refugee Health & Human Rights, Dr. Lin was recognized “for your unwavering commitment to welcome, support, and empower foreign nationals in the United States.” Other awardees were recognized for their legal work (PAIR Project, Attorneys Harvey Kaplan and Howard Silverman) and provision of supportive housing (Dr. Ruth Bersin). Open Avenues is a newly formed non-profit with a mission “to equip and empower immigrants with opportunities that enable them to reach their full potential and contribute to American society.” Reuniting separated family is a necessary step in ensuring immigrants are able to reach their full potential, as the event highlighted. Dr. Lin gave an impassioned speech about BCRHHR’s work, the Center’s resilient clients, and the negative complications that separations have on clients’ mental health.
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“I am very sincerely grateful to Boston Refugee Center for rescuing and healing me from my fears, sickness, hopelessness, tension, loneliness, poverty, and death.”
– An Asylee from Sub-Saharan Africa