Brief History:

Center for Health and Rights of Migrants (CHARM) was established in 2002 by a group of medical doctors, counselors and social workers. Doctors had experienced number of migrants rushed into hospitals at a last minute. They did not have medical insurance nor any money. The vision that came out from these experiences were a local STI clinic where migrants, regardless of visa status, could attend.

However, CHARM did not start as a clinic. Instead, it serves as a contact point between migrants and;

• the Japanese social welfare system
• hospitals and
• the community.

CHARM is a small organization with four part-time office workers, but a large network of specialists on HIV and STI in western Japan.

• To help migrants receive medical and social services by providing telephone and personal consultations, by referring patients to reliable medical doctors and other medical institutions, by providing translators, and by negotiating possible social services.
  
• To provide information about existing services, such as lawyers, labour unions, Japanese classes, counselors, etc.
  
• To assure migrants obtain and understand information about illnesses, treatments and the social welfare system in Japan.

• CHARM aims to establish a social network of support with various institutions such as hospitals, public health, churches, consulates, and business establishments. CHARM believes that a single institution cannot respond to all community needs, but with a network and with cooperation we can.
  
• CHARM aims to help migrant communities organize and develop leadership. Migrant communities have big potential; CHARM aims to realize that potential, by training migrant leaders in health issues so they can be of help to the people in their communities.

Vision:

“HEALTH FOR ALL” Where ALL stands for everybody as well as ALL aspects of a person, including physical, mental and spiritual.