News from the Center

Genocide Revisited, Healing for Tomorrow -
Surviving the Concentration Camps of the Bosnian War, Then & Now will be a 2-day conference and exhibit at Maryville University's Monsanto Room and Auditorium

On April 9th and 10th, 2010, the Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma is co-sponsoring a human rights conference with the Association of Concentration Camp Survivors of Bosnia-Herzegovina at Maryville University's Monsanto Room and Auditorium.

This 2-Day conference will push the bounds of human rights awareness, education, and advocacy by giving a true look at genocide and torture in the concentration camps of Bosnia in the ‘90’s including the healing process, and prevention in the future.

Click here to go to the Conference page!

CSTWT has offered holistic retreats for years. So it gratifying to have our efforts recently acknowledged in the form of grant funding from the St. Louis Mental Health Board. The retreats provide a safe and peaceful setting away from the city to facilitate whole-person healing. Anne Farina, Director of Youth Services manages the program. Her charge is to strengthen parent-child relationships through a series of day-long retreats, which are led by therapists.

Thanks to St. Louis For Kids, a regional intermediary that supports capacity-building among local non-profits that serve youth. In July, CSTWT was awarded a grant to purchase a 15-passenger van to serve our clients.

Without personal transportation many refugees and immigrants are unable to work or become familiar with St. Louis. A fear public transportation due to large unfamiliar crowds makes them uneasy and anxious. Older refugees and immigrants who do not speak English are afraid of getting lost. The van will help clients stay active and give them a chance to get acclimated to the city. Mohammad Akbari has been named our dedicated van driver.

Dezi*, a member of an influential family in his country, earned his living a successful contractor building homes, among other things. His entire family took an active interest in local and national politics and the establishment of fair democratic elections. In an act that shocked his family and community Dezi’s brother was abducted, tortured and eventually assassinated. Afraid for his own life, Dezi fled. In what appeared like an act of goodwill the government invited him to participate in a national conference on democratic political models.

The Center began in the early 1990s when therapists were seeing an increase in refugees who were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. In response, Jean Abbott, CSJ, LCSW coordinated an informal coalition of service providers was formed to address the special needs of these new Americans. An early partnership with Provident, Inc. made it possible for Abbot to provide on-site therapy to refugees and immigrants. In the summer of 2001, CSTWT was incorporated as a nonprofit 501(3)c corporation in Missouri to continue this work with an emphasis on providing mental health services.

On May 1, 2009, the NPR radio program Latino USA aired a program entitled "A Question of Torture." Host Maria Hinojosa interviewed Sr. Jean Abbott about the work of the Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma in St. Louis.

Listen to the complete interview with Jean Abbott.