Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International (TASSC)

06/22/2026

As part of June Survivors Week, our Legal Services Program kicked off the week with a powerful Pro Bono Asylum Training hosted by McKool Smith.

Meet Hika Lamu, a TASSC survivor who came to the United States seeking protection, graduated from American University Washington College of Law, passed the New York Bar Exam, and is now giving back by taking pro bono cases with TASSC. His journey from asylum seeker to attorney is a powerful reminder of what becomes possible when survivors receive support and opportunity.

The need for pro bono immigration attorneys has never been greater. Every year, torture survivors come to TASSC seeking legal representation, saftey, and a chance to rebuild their lives. We need more lawyers willing to step forward and take a case.

If you are an attorney looking to make a meaningful difference, we invite you to join us.

06/22/2026

As part of TASSC's June Survivors Week, our Legal Services Program kicked off the week with a powerful Pro Bono Asylum Training hosted by McKool Smith.
A special thank you to our Legal Services Director, Lauren Agresti, for leading the training and sharing her expertise with attorneys interested in representing torture survivors seeking asylum.
We were also honored to hear from Hika Lamu, a TASSC survivor who came to the United States seeking protection, graduated from American University Washington College of Law, passed the New York Bar Exam, and is now giving back by taking pro bono cases with TASSC. His journey from asylum seeker to attorney is a powerful reminder of what becomes possible when survivors receive support and opportunity.
The need for pro bono immigration attorneys has never been greater. Every year, torture survivors come to TASSC seeking legal representation, safety, and a chance to rebuild their lives. We need more lawyers willing to step forward and take a case.
If you are an attorney looking to make a meaningful difference, we invite you to join us.
Thank you to McKool Smith for hosting this important event and to everyone who participated.

06/20/2026

🌈 As Washington, DC celebrates Pride, TASSC honors the resilience, courage, and contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals in our community and around the world.

For many LGBTQ+ people, the fight for equality, safety, and dignity continues. Across the globe, individuals still face discrimination, persecution, violence, and forced displacement because of who they are.

At TASSC, we believe that every person deserves to live free from torture, oppression, and fear. This Pride Month, we stand with LGBTQ+ survivors and reaffirm our commitment to healing, human rights, and justice for all.

Happy Pride from all of us at TASSC. 💜

06/19/2026

Tomorrow is World Refugee Day. For TASSC, it is also the beginning of June Torture Survivors Week. https://www.tassc.org/june-survivors-week-2026. We honor the courage, strength, and remarkable contributions of torture survivors who have been forced to flee and rebuild their lives elsewhere – many passionate about giving back to their new community.

The United States has a long history of providing refuge to those seeking safety. Refugees have enriched our nation as doctors, nurses, educators, entrepreneurs, artists, community leaders, or simply as good neighbors. Their talents, perspectives, and experience help make our communities stronger and more vibrant.

TASSC International provides vital frontline services to those fleeing torture and other forms of persecution – including legal, wellbeing, career, and advocacy support.

Tomorrow, as we celebrate World Refugee Day, we invite you to support our work by making a donation that helps us continue to serve torture survivors, refugees, and community members. https://www.tassc.org/donate

06/15/2026

“For TASSC, being part of this kind of community event also helps build trust. It shows that TASSC is present, accessible, and willing to meet people where they are. It also helps us better understand what immigrant families are worried about right now and what kind of support they need most.” -Dawit Shiferaw, TASSC Accredited Representative

“It was so helpful to be in a room with folks from around the country who could share creative strategies and report on new trends they've seen in their jurisdictions. Collaboration amongst advocates, attorneys, and non-attorneys alike is crucial to the work that we do, and the Convening was a good reminder of the strength and solidarity that persists across the country.” -Helina Meressa, TASSC Attorney

By Lauren Shocker, Legal Services Intern On April 27th TASSC’s DOJ Accredited Representative Dawit Shiferaw helped facilitate the Immigrant Initiatives & Resources Roundtable hosted by the  Citizens Advisory Board .  In this facilitati

06/09/2026

Sacred Seeing: Art, Reflection, and Solidarity with Survivors 🌸🎨

As part of TASSC's June Survivors Week and in recognition of the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the TASSC Detroit Chapter invites you to join a special virtual gathering of reflection, healing, and solidarity.

Hosted in partnership with the Dominican Center Spirituality for Mission, Sacred Seeing will offer a Visio Divina experience guided by Sara Bauman, TASSC Board Secretary and leader of the TASSC Detroit Chapter, and Eucharia Calhoun, a spiritual director, internationally recognized intuitive artist, and facilitator of trauma-informed Celtic soul retreats joining from Dublin, Ireland.

Participants will be invited to reflect on two powerful works of art, My Ethiopian Pomegranate and The Unseen Midwife, exploring themes of resilience, dignity, healing, and the human spirit. Through quiet reflection and guided conversation, we honor the experiences of torture survivors and reaffirm our commitment to justice, healing, and community.

This event reflects the TASSC Detroit Chapter’s commitment to creating meaningful spaces for education, healing, reflection, and survivor solidarity within our local communities and across the global survivor movement.

People of all spiritual backgrounds are welcome to participate.

⏰Date: June 27, 2026
💻Format: Virtual (Zoom)
📋Registration Required : https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/z2kxx7b

06/08/2026

💙🧡Access to Justice funding has been restored in the FY2027 DC budget by the Council! 💙🧡

This is a victory for torture survivors across the District, and it belongs to our whole community.

When the proposed budget threatened an 86% cut to the funding that anchors our legal program, TASSC did what we always do: we came together.

Our leadership personally wrote to every member of the DC Council to educate them about the impact of the proposed cuts. Our legal services team prepared informational materials and testified before the Committee. Our development team coordinated with the DC Access to Justice Commission and our operations and program staff proofread countless documents and built out our messaging. Our advocacy & outreach team connected survivors with their councilmembers and supported them every step of the way in telling their stories, and our staff wrote letters to their own representatives.

But the most powerful voices were our community.

Survivors themselves came forward to testify and tell the Council, in their own words, what civil legal aid has meant to their lives, their families, and their futures here in DC.

To the DC Council: thank you for listening, and for standing by a program you created two decades ago. To everyone who emailed, wrote, called, and showed up: WE MADE A DIFFERENCE.

The budget process isn’t over, but this is a VERY important step.

💙🧡 End Torture. Empower Survivors.

05/12/2026

📢TODAY - Support Our Torture Survivor Neighbors in DC.


Help us raise $1500 on DC Giving Day today for legal services, wellbeing, career and community advocacy support for survivors.

Torture survivors are our neighbors here in DC. Many arrive here with next to nothing, fleeing persecution and torture. TASSC helps these resilient survivors find safety, heal, and earn a live, to ultimately become part of the DC community and give back.

TASSC is a torture survivor founded and torture survivor led organization.

Support us today on DC Giving Day - https://www.givegreaterdc.org/o/torture-abolition-and-survivors-support-coalition

05/07/2026

🎥 Yesterday, TASSC International torture survivors and staff testified before the DC Council to communicate to Coucilmembers that the Access to Justice (ATJ) Initiative is a lifeline for thousands of DC residents seeking safety, stability, and legal protection.

DETAILS ON HOW YOU, AS A DC RESIDENT, CAN TAKE ACTION BELOW!!!
https://www.tassc.org/Protect%20Access%20to%20Justice

For survivors of torture and persecution, access to legal representation can mean the difference between safety and deportation, family unity and separation, hope and fear.

The Mayor’s proposed FY27 budget would cut ATJ funding by 86%, threatening legal services for nearly 38,000 DC residents across the city. At TASSC, this funding supports critical asylum representation for survivors rebuilding their lives in Washington, DC.

We are grateful to the survivors, advocates, attorneys, and community members who continue to speak out and stand up for justice.
Please watch and share our testimony video — and continue urging the DC Council to restore full ATJ funding.

📣 Contact your Councilmember today using the TASSC email template:
https://www.tassc.org/Protect%20Access%20to%20Justice

Justice should never depend on income, immigration status, or the ability to afford a lawyer. 💙

04/30/2026

🚨 DC residents — your neighbors need you to make a call today.

Urge your ward representative to reject proposed cuts to Access to Justice funding. Act now to protect critical legal support for survivors in DC.

Use this link to email your Councilmember: https://www.tassc.org/protectaccesstojustice

The Mayor's proposed FY27 budget would slash DC's Access to Justice (ATJ) Initiative by 86% — cutting down to just $4.4 million for the whole city. This program has protected low-income DC residents for 20 years, and it costs less than 0.15% of DC's budget.

For TASSC International — the only U.S. organization founded and led by torture survivors — this funding supports two staff salaries and our ability to serve 50+ clients currently fighting for safety in asylum proceedings. These are your neighbors in Anacostia, Shepherd Park, Petworth, Takoma, Columbia Heights, and in every ward in D.C.

One of our clients waited nine years for an asylum interview — contributing to his community the entire time — before TASSC finally secured his safety. Without ATJ funding, that never happens.

Across DC, an 86% cut could leave nearly 38,000 DC residents without legal support.

📣 Please contact your DC Councilmember today and urge them to restore ATJ Initiative funding to current levels

Chairman Mendelson (All Wards): [email protected]

Ward 1 – Brianne Nadeau: [email protected]

Ward 2 – Brooke Pinto: [email protected]

Ward 3 – Matt Frumin: [email protected]

Ward 4 – Janeese Lewis George: [email protected]

Ward 5 – Zachary Parker: [email protected]

Ward 6 – Charles Allen: [email protected]

Ward 7 – Wendell Felder: [email protected]

Ward 8 – Trayon White Sr.: [email protected]

At-Large – Anita Bonds: [email protected]

At-Large – Christina Henderson: [email protected]

At-Large – Doni Crawford: [email protected]

At-Large – Robert C. White Jr.: [email protected]

Don't know your ward? Find your Councilmember at https://dcaccesstojustice.org/council/

Justice shouldn't depend on your ability to pay for it. Help us protect DC's most vulnerable residents. 💙