UPDATE 2025:
THE PPSC REFUGEE SUPPORT PROGRAM
From PPSC RSP Founder, Judy Levitz:
I’m very pleased to offer this Newsletter update about PPSC’s RSP Program! As hoped, during 2025 PPSC RSP successfully expanded its reach beyond the Ukrainian refugee population to provide pro bono individual clinical sessions and asylum evaluation support to clients from regions including: Nigeria, Haiti, Venezuela, Russia, Republic of Guinea, Jamaica, El Salvador and the Middle East. We have had over 20 referrals since June 2025.
Besides word of mouth and inquiries through the PPSC website, our main sources of referrals continue to include: Catholic Charities, East Village Neighbors, Team TLCNYC, Emma’s Torch and Ark Immigration. And as of this month, we are very pleased to be embarking on collaborations with two new connections:
AAPIPNA - (Aragonese Association For Psychic Research On Children And Adolescents). This wonderful organization in Spain not only does training but has their own special program for empowering new immigrants through education and career development.
SCRIC (THE SYNAGOGUE COALITION ON THE REFUGEE AND IMMIGRATION CRISIS). SCRIC CONSISTS OF 34 synagogues and 12 non-profit organizations in the New York City area.
There’s more! Because of the under-representation of French and Arabic speaking therapists we need to volunteer translators with English speaking therapists, and Karina Loub, one of our wonderful PPSC social work interns, is taking on one of those cases. It is tricky enough working with the issues these clients bring, but working with a translator adds layers of challenges, and I am very grateful to Karina, everyone working with the interns, Katie and the Treatment Service team and the Leadership Team for supporting this endeavor.
Speaking of the work Karina is doing for RSP, she is also now overseeing recruitment as well as the implementation of a facet of RSP’s emergency support functions, namely, coordinating a volunteer food delivery service. While we’ve been very mindful about mission creep (mental health services and asylum advocacy are our primary concerns), we have clients unable to access decent food for financial or medical reasons until work permits are approved. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory scarily comes to life before our eyes. This auxiliary service to RSP clients in treatment helps ensure we can address the 1st level of need, Physiological stability, in order for the therapist to best work on levels 3-5: Love and Belonging, Esteem, and Self-Actualization. (Yes, I had to look it up again after 50+ years!) One client, “Maya” who has had to spend her sessions discussing her severe anemia, lack of transportation funds and liver disease, is now getting multiple meals 2-3x per week. Another client, “Sidd”, was referred to us for anxiety due to fear of deportation, rendering him virtually unable to function at his job (2nd level on the pyramid: Safety.) Ensuring he has an immigration lawyer in place and clearly understands the steps to be taken to secure his visa is a prerequisite to his being able to benefit from therapy, so RSP has a team of non-clinical Care Coordinator volunteers working with our many partners to help it all fall into place.
Lastly (almost), we will be hosting an interesting series of best practices for immigrant, refugee, asylee, populations through the Learning Lab. I’m thrilled to be able to invite some of the lead clinicians at RSP, as well as from our partner groups who specialize in knowledge of trauma, forced migration, the interface of legal and social obstacles on the psyche, etc. to do these presentations. (These workshops will be free to interns and RSP volunteers seeing clients.)
Finally, I just want to say on a personal note, that for me, this program is an OTC anti-depressant and mood regulator. With all that’s going on, it is a powerful remedy for some of the anger and helplessness that comes from living in our times. If you know of anyone who is interested in participating, please let me know. There are many clinical and non-clinical opportunities to go around. No prescription
necessary!
-- Judy Levitz