Resolution Commemorating 30 Years of Healing at the Marjorie Kovler Center
WHEREAS, this April the Heartland Alliance Marjorie Kovler Center celebrates thirty years of serving survivors of politically-sanctioned torture who are rebuilding their lives in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, In 1987, a concerned group of a philanthropist, physicians, psychologists, lawyers, and torture survivors joined the burgeoning worldwide torture rehabilitation movement to set up services for survivors in Chicago, creating one of the first torture survivors' treatment centers established in the United States; and
WHEREAS, The mission of Kovler Center is to help transform the lives of those recovering from the complex consequences of politically-sponsored torture. Kovler Center provides medical services, mental health treatment and social services; trains and educates locally and globally; and advocates for the end of torture worldwide; and
WHEREAS, Each year, Kovler Center serves over 350 survivors who represent sixty countries where torture upended their lives. Clients include nearly 100 newly-arrived asylum seekers and refugees; and
WHEREAS, Kovler Center is the only torture treatment center within 300 miles of Chicago. Its specialized services are critical for this vulnerable population as they seek to heal from trauma, attend to their health, build effective support networks, and lead productive and meaningful lives; and
WHEREAS, Kovler Center received founding funding from philanthropist Peter Kovler and was named for his mother Marjorie. Mr. Kovler continues to support the center's work and serves as an honorary chair of the 30th anniversary benefit celebration: and
WHEREAS, "30 Years of Healing," Kovler Center's anniversary benefit, will take place on Thursday, April 27, 2017 and will showcase Kovler Center's accomplishments. The event will honor Dr. Zaher Sahloul, founder of the American Relief Coalition for Syria, with the Robert H. Kirschner Award for Global Activism; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this nineteenth day of April, 2017, do hereby recognize Kovler Center survivors of torture, staff, and supporters - and declare April 27, 2017 as "Marjorie Kovler Center Day" in Chicago; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be prepared and presented to Kovler Center.
1 Joseph A. Moore, Alderman 49th Ward Chairman - Committee on Housing and Real Estate