Center for Immigrants and Immigration Services to Aid Torture Survivors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) November 9, 2009 --

Concerned over the vacuum in services created by the recent closure of a Denver non-profit, a group of refugees and local citizens has rallied together to establish a new torture treatment center to reach out to torture survivors, asylum seekers, and their families residing in Colorado. The Center for Immigrants and Immigration Services (CIIS) plans to officially open its doors to the public on January 4, 2010 providing legal representation, assistance with basic needs, English classes, psychological counseling, and health care services for survivors and their families who have lived through torture and war trauma.

The Center will establish a safe place for people to gather, talk about their experiences,
and create a sense of community and support as they learn and rebuild their new lives in
America. “Community is so important for people to overcome the scars of war trauma
and torture,” states Johanna Smith Bakken, L.S.W., the center’s Mental Health Director.
“Their lives have been ripped apart. People need a safe place to heal, to come together
with others who have experienced similar horrors, and to get the help they need to

reestablish their lives in this country.”

Frederick A.B. Jayweh, the Center’s Executive Director, emphasizes the unique niche
CIIS hopes to fill in offering legal and other services for survivors and asylum seekers.
CIIS, when it opens, will be the only agency in the Rocky Mountain region offering legal
assistance and other services for people who have experienced and suffered torture in
their native counties. The Center is currently accepting applications for its Board and
volunteers. For more information, please contact: Frederick A.B. Jayweh at Center for

Immigrants and Immigration Services, 1980 Dahlia Street, Denver, CO 80220, 303-355-
0611 or fjayweh@hotmail.com.

denver     human rights     immigrant     Refugee     torture     trauma