SLU Students Serve "Pancakes for People"

The Message Design class in the Department of Communication at Saint Louis University will be holding a fundraiser tomorrow, Wednesday, May 1, for Places for People. The dedicated students from this class will be serving "Pancakes for People" from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on the SLU Quad.  Pancakes are $1 each or three for $2.  Toppings are a little extra.

For anyone who prefers to eat pancakes late at night, the students will be having a second pancake feed later tomorrow evening (Wednesday, May 1) from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. in front of Humphrey's Restaurant and Tavern.

This event has been entirely planned and promoted by the eight students and their professor. They chose Places for People to be the project's beneficiary because of our proximity to SLU's campus, but more importantly because they were impressed by the work we perform for the community.

Please stop by for a stack of pancakes on Wednesday to show your support for these young philanthropists and Places for People.

PfP Receives Honor from St. Louis American Foundation

Places for People received the Health Care Advocacy Organization of the Year Award from the St. Louis American Foundation on Friday, April 26, at the 13th Annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards Luncheon.

PfP was represented at the luncheon by several board members, administrators, staff members and persons served. In his acceptance speech, Executive Director Joe Yancey said the award reinforces how essential behavioral health (mental health/substance abuse disorder treatments) is to a person's overall health.

Visit our Facebook page to see pictures from the event.

PfP Faith Team Helps Make Citizenship Interview Less Traumatic for Survivors of Torture

For a refugee who is a survivor of torture, traumatic reminders of the past can be found anywhere at any time.

This is even true on what should be a joyous day-interviewing for U.S. citizenship. For refugees, gaining citizenship can be a source of great pride and a way to mark a new beginning. Walking past a uniformed guard at the entrance of the Robert A. Young Federal Building and entering a small, windowless room where the interview occurs can make the experience feel more like an interrogation than a test.

Places for People and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently worked together to decrease the chance of re-traumatizing survivors of torture who are interviewing for U.S. citizenship.

“Trauma has a lasting effect on people,” Places for People Immigration Attorney Courtney Manus said.

The Places for People Faith Team works with survivors of torture who are living with major depressive disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and/or various anxiety disorders. Not only have they lived through traumatic experiences in their homeland, but the resettlement process can also be difficult. The Faith Team works with survivors of torture for as long as necessary to promote a successful transition.

On Tuesday, April 16, the USCIS conducted interviews for eight PfP clients who are survivors of torture at the Places for People Recovery Center Campus. All eight clients passed their citizenship exams.

Read the rest of this story on the Places for People website.