Our mission
Promote the rehabilitation and integration of newcomers and of any person who has been traumatized, prior to their arrival in Canada, by organized violence, of a political, social, identity-based or religious nature.
Our values
We prioritize building trust with our clients. Those who have faced organized violence have unique needs: they are deeply impacted by their experiences in their home countries, and adjusting to our society takes great resilience. As a community organization, we are dedicated to working together with diverse partners.
Our history: at work since 1993
March 4, 1993: the official creation of RIVO!
The Réseau d’intervention auprès des personnes ayant subi la violence organisée (RIVO) is a network of psychologists, psychotherapists, social and community workers concerned with the well-being of survivors of torture and other forms of organized violence.
In the 1990s, professionals in community organizations in Montreal identified gaps in support offered to asylum seekers and refugees traumatized by organized violence. They decided to join forces, and RIVO was created in 1993. No one has had a greater impact on RIVO than its co-founder, John Docherty.
In the following years, RIVO forged close ties with several clinics and community organizations and provided psychotherapy to thousands of refugees and asylum seekers. In 2012, RIVO fell into crisis due to federal cuts, losing 80% of its revenue streams in the space of a month. An anonymous donor saved the organization. Decades later, the members of the network (psychologists, psychotherapists, doctors, massage therapists, social workers, community workers, etc.) remain the soul of RIVO and tirelessly contribute to the well-being of asylum seekers and refugees, some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
To date, RIVO is the only community organization in Quebec specializing in mental health for newcomers that are affected by war, torture and organized violence.
In 2015, Amnesty Canada Francophone awarded RIVO the Benenson-Humphrey Prize.