From the early years of CVT, leaders understood that the shockingly huge numbers of people who survived torture and required rehabilitation could not be served by a single organization. Our mission to heal the wounds of torture drove us to find ways to bring effective healing to as many survivors as possible, so working with partner organizations became a core component of our work. Both in the U.S. and internationally, a foundational area of focus has been to support and connect with partners who also serve survivors of torture.

The international side of this work was formalized in 2001 with the International Capacity Building Project, and over the years CVT made connections with many partners who provide mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) to survivors in their communities. These local groups often face a tremendously high need for care but low resources for getting the work done effectively.

CVT was able to step in with support in three key areas: mental health treatment and healing for survivors; program evaluation and specialized monitoring and evaluation consultation; and organizational development to develop sustainable strategies, enhance management practices and build fundraising skills.

CVT’s Helping Survivors Heal program was the most recent of these programs, and the team worked with 12 global partners to expand survivors’ access to quality, evidence-informed care. This collaboration brought together CVT technical advisors with local organizations in major geographical regions, working to build organizational effectiveness.

The Helping Survivors Heal program was abruptly halted in late January, 2025, when the newly-elected Trump administration pulled its funding for overseas work. This left a dozen partner organizations without support and training, and critical organizational projects started but now left to go unfinished, without notice.

Pam Kriege Santoso served as long-time CVT director of capacity development, and it was her vision and tireless work that led to widespread success in the program. “Under Pam’s leadership, more effective mental health care was made possible and better equipped organizations were built and fostered,” said Emily Hutchinson, CVT vice president of global programs. “The HSH program enabled tens of thousands to get the kind of care they deserved after the trauma they had been put through. It takes dedication as well as expertise to accomplish all the HSH team, and Pam herself, were able to do.”

The HSH program enabled tens of thousands to get the kind of care they deserved after the trauma they had been put through.”

-Emily Hutchinson, CVT vice president of global programs

The HSH team was tireless in their work with partners, demonstrating the expertise as well as innovation that was needed on a daily basis in order to adapt to differing contexts and needs. The work of HSH was transformational: the project impacted the lives of thousands of survivors of torture. In fact, in 2024 alone, HSH efforts for mental health and psychosocial support reached more than 10,000 beneficiaries and thousands more participants in trainings and community events.

Sadly, HSH’s funding was cut long before the contract was scheduled to complete when USAID pulled all its foreign aid grants. This meant that long-standing partnerships were forced to halt and clients and a wide range of participants lost their access to CVT’s training and mentorship.

In fact, at the time of program shutdown, HSH partners were providing MHPSS services to approximately 10,016 beneficiaries across 11 countries each year, and the organizations served from 130 up to 3549 individuals annually.

In addition, last year HSH partners engaged an additional 78,489 participants in MHPSS community events, which included trainings, self-care awareness sessions, mental health education sessions and many more events.

The HSH team set the bar very high for CVT’s work to expand survivors’ access to high quality care.”

-Emily Hutchinson

The HSH team faced a very wide range of challenges in their daily work, coordinating logistics and details across continents and surmounting obstacles with courage. The team shined a warm light on the field of mental health care for people who have survived the darkest of human cruelty, with great expertise and compassion for all participants.

“The HSH team set the bar very high for CVT’s work to expand survivors’ access to high quality care,” said Emily. “We are grateful for the work of the team and the leadership of Pam Kriege Santoso for the healing that was made possible for so many survivors.”