student spotlight
HOPE FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS by Christa Kuck ’24
L
ast spring, the Upper Valley Human Rights Clinic (UVHRC) saw its first clients. The mission of the student-run clinic is to provide medical evaluations for people seeking asylum in the United States. Students, faculty, and community members have been working for years to make this a reality. The UVHRC represents a collaboration between Geisel’s Physicians for Human Rights chapter and Good Neighbor Health Clinic, which administers medical care to the un- and underinsured and has offered its space for the UVHRC. Our clinic
6 | SPRING 2022 | ALUMNI NEWS & NOTES
is based off of a national model for studentrun asylum clinics, present at dozens of U.S. medical schools. The process for each evaluation begins when an attorney requests our services for their client. An attorney may request a medical evaluation if their client needs to document physical or psychological conditions that are consequences of persecution in their home country. A physician, a student, and, if needed, a translator participate in the evaluation.
