Contact: Pam McDonnell(212) 404-3555
CLIMB FOR COURAGE
NYU Medical Student Organizes Mountain Climbing Expedition to Aid Survivors of Torture
NEW YORK, June 11 -- Along with seven other ambitious climbers, Jonathan Gutman, a fourth-year student at NYU School of Medicine, has just been to the top of Mount McKinley and back. He's the one who organized the extraordinary expedition called Climb for Courage, with two goals in mind: to raise funds for the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture and to raise public awareness that will last well beyond the climb itself.
Mr. Gutman has been an avid mountain climber for several years. He also is a volunteer with the Survivors of Torture Program. Putting these two aspects of his life together, he came up with the idea of using his passion for climbing to help victims of torture and other human rights abuses whose stories of pain and suffering both horrified and inspired him. Their courage was symbolized for him by the challenge to climb Mount McKinley -- at 20,320 feet, the highest mountain in North America. The team left on Saturday, May 19, and is returning to New York on Wednesday, June 13.
Torture is a worldwide human rights concern, documented to occur in more than 90 countries. It is estimated that at least 200,000 immigrants and refugees who suffered torture in their native countries now reside in the United States. New York, with its large immigrant population, may have more survivors of torture than any other U.S. city.
Since 1995, the Bellevue/NYU Program has cared for nearly 600 men, women, and children from more than 60 countries who have suffered the devastating health consequences of torture. "Tragically, the need for our program's services is growing," says Allen S. Keller, MD, Director of the Program for Survivors of Torture. "We're seeing on average five to ten new patients a week."
The Bellevue/NYU Program is the only treatment program of its kind in the New York metropolitan area. In addition to providing direct patient services, the Program also serves as a training and resource center for other organizations assisting refugee and immigrant populations. For more information, please call the Program's main office at 683-7446, or visit its Web site at www.survivorsoftorture.org.
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