Asylum Pride House
Title: Organizing Health and Wellness Events for LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers in Philadelphia
Student Interns:
Zoë Boston
Drexel University College of Medicine
Nicole Ru
Drexel University College of Medicine
Academic Preceptor:
Homaira Azim, MD, PhD
Drexel University College of Medicine
Community Preceptor:
Louisa Benatovich, BS
Asylum Pride House
Victoria Sirois, MA
Asylum Pride House
Community Site:
Asylum Pride House provides initial resources, case management, and long-term transitional housing to LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in Philadelphia. It works with local and national organizations to provide wraparound support to clients in multiple areas, including immigration, housing, and legal services. In addition to these resources, Asylum Pride House organizes activities and outings for clients through the Wellness for Recently Arrived Persons Program (WRAPP) to support the emotional well-being and community integration of LGBTQ+ asylum seekers. Clients who participate in WRAPP also become eligible for free individual therapy sessions with local providers.
Team’s Experience:
The Bridging the Gaps student interns took the lead on WRAPP activities this summer, working on a mix of educational sessions and community outings for Asylum Pride House clients. For the LGBTQ+ Immigrant Community Health Day, they reached out to multiple LGBTQ+ health/wellness organizations to table or speak at the event, and several immigration organizations also helped advertise the event to LGBTQ+ immigrants not affiliated with Asylum Pride House. They also coordinated with M&T Bank to host a financial literacy workshop for clients and organized a pottery class and a dance class. In between WRAPP planning, the interns accompanied clients on shopping trips and updated contacts for organizations in Philadelphia that Asylum Pride House has partnered with previously.
Reflections
“I’ve greatly enjoyed my time working with the folks at Asylum Pride House. I have learned so much about the asylum and immigration processes, as well as why we need nonprofits like Asylum Pride House to do the work that they do. I want to serve the LGBTQ+ community in my future practice as a physician, and my experiences working with clients and organizing the immigrant community health day will help me achieve this goal. Learning what resources are available in the community and how to advocate for our clients to get the resources they deserve have been invaluable experiences. Before this summer, I had a vague idea about how to access resources for the LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities. Now, I have a much more tangible way to help my future patients. I am inspired by our community preceptors every single day, and I can only hope that I will be able to serve my patients in the same way they serve their clients.”
Zoë Boston
“Through my experience at Asylum Pride House this summer, I’ve learned about the importance of wraparound services for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and the resources available through different services in Philadelphia. I’ve also seen the impact of federal funding cuts this summer for many of the organizations that our site partners with, which illustrates the tenuous nature of support systems and safety networks in the community. Despite the uncertainty of the current climate, working with Asylum Pride House has been so fulfilling and inspiring — I’ve gained deeper insight into the asylum process in the United States, connected with multiple LGBTQ+ and immigration organizations in Philadelphia, and listened to our clients’ stories and experiences. It’s been such a rewarding experience, and I’ve had so much fun working with Victoria, Louisa, and Zoë over the past few weeks. I’m grateful to everyone at our site for giving us the opportunity to learn from them this summer, and I hope to carry this knowledge with me as I move forward into my career in healthcare to best serve my community and patients.”
Nicole Ru