Center for Survivors of Torture

Caregiver's Corner                 June 2007

Pack it up…   with the CST Backpack Project!

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On June 14, 2007, the Austin Outreach Center officially kicked off the Backpack Project by distributing the first of what will be many backpacks to come. Why a backpack?

Imagine leaving your house in the morning and walking to the bus stop. If it is summer, it will be hot and humid outside and maybe a bit too cool in air-conditioned offices. Either way, it would be helpful to have a sweater or a jacket to carry with you. You have two appointments today-one at CST and one with a medical clinic. You will probably be filling out paperwork, which means you might have to report a series of dates including your last physical or the date of your merit hearing. At CST, you receive help in the form of referral forms and brochures for service agencies, snacks, fresh fruit or bread, bottled water, some chamomile tea to help with insomnia, and an address for the local food pantry. You will be on and off five busses, and in and out of three offices today.

A backpack would be helpful to carry everything so you do not have to juggle shopping bags or loose items on the ride home.

The Backpack Project is an extension of the Welcome Notebook Project that the Austin office began over a year ago. A Welcome Notebook is a binder filled with resources given to each new CST client. When you are navigating the asylum process or the resettlement system there is a lot of information to keep track of-agency names, helping professionals, contact information, appointments, deadlines. The Welcome Notebook is a space for clients to jot down everything they need to remember. However, the welcome notebook was too large to be carried in a pocket or purse, so the Backpack Project was born of client necessity and volunteer ingenuity.

On top of all the red tape of the legal process, becoming acclimated to a new country and city is completely overwhelming. CST-Austin includes library card information, bus schedules & route maps, numbers for taxi companies, bus passes, and information on other community resources to make the Austin community more accessible.

No backpack is complete with out a set of personal care items. Having your own toothbrush and toothpaste is something we take for granted. However, when you are navigating the asylum process and cannot work it's not so easy to run to the drugstore and pick up what you need. Our clients are educated, hardworking people who had careers in their countries of origin. While they may be homeless, living with friends, or living in a shelter while they are seeking asylum, they have the right to basic personal care and access to basic hygiene items. Included in the backpacks are a towel, toothbrush and toothpaste, soap, shampoo, a lock, and several other items to support client comfort, security and dignity.

It does not take a lot to fill a backpack, but it takes a lot of help to provide backpacks to every client who walks through our doors. CST relies heavily on monetary contributions and item donations to make the Backpack Project possible. If you spot towels on sale at Target, pick up a few and drop them by our office, or, if you want to support this program financially, make your contribution on-line and we will make sure your resources are used to purchase necessity items for as many clients as possible. If you are part of an organization looking for a service project, hold a backpack drive.

Below is a complete list of items for you to distribute to staff, members, volunteers, congregations or students. We have about eighty clients per year who could use a backpack.

Backpack Project Donation List

Adult Backpacks (solid colors preferred, new or like-new)

Locks

Binders (1", white or black)

Ziploc Bags (snack, quart and gallon)

Quarters (for phone calls)

Towels (light-weight, easy dry)

Loofahs or Washcloths

Comb or Small Brush

Toothbrushes

Travel-sized toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, mouthwash, lotion,
deodorant, razor, and facial tissue

As always, if you have any questions or need more information about CST or the Backpack Program, just drop us an email to our Austin Outreach Center or our Dallas Home Office.

This article appeared in the June issue of the CST Newsletter, In the News. Coming up in our next issue, look for tips and information about how to make your office a family and child friendly space.