PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Dr. Shobana Ramasamy, Primary Care Physician from New York Doctors Coalition
5:09:16
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136 sec
Dr. Shobana Ramasamy, representing the New York Doctors Coalition, testified against the 30/60 day shelter stay limits for asylum seekers. She emphasized the importance of stable housing for health and shared experiences of patients negatively impacted by the policy.
- Highlighted a case of a Venezuelan family suffering from PTSD and depression due to unstable living conditions
- Outlined negative health impacts including interruptions in healthcare, suboptimal childhood development, and trauma from school instability
- Called for the complete elimination of the 30/60 day shelter limits to prevent harmful impacts on asylum seekers
Dr. Shobana Ramasamy
5:09:16
Yes.
5:09:17
Thank you for this opportunity to speak today.
5:09:19
My name is doctor Shobana Ramasamy,
UNKNOWN
5:09:21
and
Dr. Shobana Ramasamy
5:09:21
I am a primary care physician in New York City.
5:09:23
Today, I'm speaking on behalf of the New York Doctors Coalition.
5:09:27
We are an organization of over 900 physicians working in New York City with over multiple decades of experience caring for patients.
5:09:35
Being on the front lines of health care here, we have, within the last year, cared for and advocated on behalf of 100 of newly arrived people, including single adults and families from over 50 countries.
5:09:47
We write and speak with urgency and immense concern regarding the 30 60 day rule of temporary shelter.
5:09:55
As health care workers and trainees, we know intimately the importance of safe and stable affordable housing.
5:10:01
And as such, we are staunchly against the 30 60 day shelter stay limits.
5:10:07
We recall the case of a young family from Venezuela who was seen in one of our clinics.
5:10:12
This family of 5 experienced severe PTSD from their journey.
5:10:16
The younger Children in particular were struggling with depression caused by difficulties with sustaining a stable school environment and exacerbated by disruptions in the continuity of their medical and mental health care.
5:10:28
Their story is one of so many 100.
5:10:31
The current policy of 30 60 day notices, as we've heard by everybody here, is not only deeply harmful at present, but it creates deep rifts of trauma that echo forward in multiple aspects of an individual's health for years to come.
5:10:45
The negative impacts are incalculable, and they include, and are not limited to interruptions in health care, obviously, for patients who have underlying chronic health conditions, suboptimal childhood growth and development due to inadequate nutrition and difficulty obtaining specialized services.
5:11:03
And, of course, the innumerable traumas implicated on children who don't get to have a steady connection with their school.
5:11:09
Furthermore, we have also had cases where this policy was unpredictably applied at the individual HERC level.
5:11:16
I recall the case of a young woman who arrived into the city with an openly draining fish
Gale A. Brewer
5:11:20
Thank you.
5:11:21
You're trying to fire.
5:11:22
Extension.
Dr. Shobana Ramasamy
5:11:23
I just wanna say we believe that the only way to stop the harmful impacts is to eliminate the 30 60 day shelter limits in their entirety.
5:11:31
Thank you for your time and consideration.
