PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Karin Takahashi, Social Worker from Immigrant Rights and Advocacy Project at Brooklyn Legal Services
5:14:38
·
147 sec
Karin Takahashi, a social worker from the Immigrant Rights and Advocacy Project at Brooklyn Legal Services, testified about the negative impacts of the current shelter policy on vulnerable migrant populations, particularly children and individuals with health concerns. She emphasized the disruption to education, emotional development, and continuity of care caused by frequent shelter transfers.
- Highlighted the trauma already experienced by asylum seekers, including violence, displacement, and abuse
- Described specific cases of children experiencing severe mental health issues due to instability
- Pointed out the loss of contact with clients and disruption of ongoing treatments due to shelter transfers
Karin Takahashi
5:14:38
My name is Karen Takahashi, and I'm a social worker of the Immigrant Rights and Advocacy Project at Brooklyn Legal Services.
5:14:44
Thank you so much for the opportunity to testify today.
5:14:48
As a licensed social worker, with my experience working in the HURC migrant shelters as a social worker, I have witnessed firsthand the profound and disruptive impact of the current shelter policy on the vulnerable populations and the fear and the distress that it has caused on these residents.
5:15:05
Many of the migrants in these shelters are seeking asylum, as we know, and they have already endured significant trauma ranging from violence, displacement, trafficking, sexual abuse, incarceration, and loss.
5:15:17
As we know, this policy exacerbates these challenges and creates a cascade of many significant negative effects.
5:15:25
So for these children, this policy is a devastating disruption to both their education and emotional development.
5:15:32
When families are moved from shelter to shelter, children are frequently forced to change schools, basic and commutes, sometimes are unable to attend the schools at all, as we have all heard.
5:15:43
And the constant instability undermines their academic process, progress, and significantly harms their mental health.
5:15:49
Many of these children have diagnoses of anxiety, depression, PTSD as I have seen in the shelters previously and at my current position.
5:15:58
For example, I have worked with, 10 year old child who suffered so much from this instability that the child expressed thoughts of suicide.
5:16:06
Additionally, I have counseled countless children who refused to go to school due to the overwhelming challenges of adjusting to their new schools or their new environments, often resorting to drugs and other maladaptive behaviors as they seek a sense of community and belonging.
5:16:23
And for individuals with both physical and mental health concerns, this policy exacerbates existing health risks and disrupts continuity of care.
5:16:32
Also, we have heard countless times, these frequent moves between shelters force people to switch health care providers, travel long distances to access
Gale A. Brewer
5:16:42
Your time expired.
Karin Takahashi
5:16:45
I just wanna say that, many of these residents, when I worked at the shelter, I lost contact with them, disrupting the coordination and loss of referrals and ultimately interrupted, other ongoing treatments with both their physical health and their mental health.
5:17:03
Thank you so much for your time.
