Asylum Pride House
Title: Immigration Advocacy & Policy
Student Interns:
Casey Chen
Drexel University College of Medicine
Cory Needler
Drexel University College of Medicine
Academic Preceptor:
Homaira Azim, MD, PhD
Drexel University College of Medicine
Community Preceptor:
Victoria Sirois, MA
Asylum Pride House
Community Site:
Asylum Pride House (APH) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2022 that provides housing, case management, and other necessary initial services to recently arrived LGBTQ+ asylum-seeking immigrants. APH’s current housing program operates out of West Philly and offers long-term housing to LGBTQ+ identifying asylum seekers. In its short time operating, APH has become a pillar of the community by educating people about the impacts of immigration policy change and by participating in discussions to improve the quality of life for immigrants in the United States.
Team’s Experience:
The APH interns focused on planning wellness events for the clients with the hope of providing a safe, informal space to talk about mental health and well-being. These events consisted of a vision-board-making session, a fishing activity, and an accompanied trip to get free clothes. The interns also worked to expand online resources for current and future clients accessible on the APH website, including an introduction to finances and financial planning for recently arrived people and LGBTQ+-specific domestic violence signs and resources. The interns accompanied the APH staff and clients to legal, health, and advocacy appointments, gaining deeper insight into day-to-day life as an immigrant and/or someone working in the immigration space. The interns also transcribed client cases to a new case management database and consolidated information electronically. Finally, the interns helped move clients into a new housing space and did some maintenance work at the APH house.
Reflections
I found this BTG summer experience invaluable and hugely influential in how I want to build my future career in healthcare. Not only was I able to learn more about immigration policy, case management, and how nonprofit organizations operate, but I was also able to see the real lived experiences of a group of people that I otherwise would have never been exposed to. More broadly, it exposed me to the vast number of community connections that support Philadelphia, and it taught me that healthcare goes far beyond medical care.
Casey Chen
Participating in the Bridging the Gaps experience has been a greater opportunity for personal and professional growth than I ever expected. The Wednesday didactic sessions were incredibly informative, but also frustrating, as they highlighted the current state of underserved populations in the United States. Combined with my experience at APH, my perspectives on immigration and related policies have broadened to understand that complacency is complicity. Given this, my place as a person of privilege and as a future physician places me in a unique location to make a positive impact on related policies and the people they affect. I’m interested in exploring additional medical specialties and participating in research relating to these policies.
Cory Needler
