Songwriter Chris Cornell Honored In Santa Monica "The Promise"

SANTA MONICA, CA – Chris Cornell will posthumously be honored next week for his song "The Promise" –­ recorded for the film of the same name about the Armenian Genocide – and for his humanitarian efforts, by the LA Chefs for Human Rights campaign. Campaign directors will honor Cornell at the second LA Chefs for Human Rights fundraising dinner Sept. 25 in Santa Monica

LACHR, founded by Cassia restaurant owners Kim Luu-Ng and Bryant Ng, is a campaign to support the Program for Torture Victims, a nonprofit organization that helps torture survivors from more than 70 countries. The fundraising event will bring together chefs and bakers cooking a multi-course dinner, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting PTV.

Cornell, the award-winning Audioslave and Soundgarden frontman, wrote and recorded "The Promise" for the 2016 film. The song's lyrics have been embraced by human rights groups as a call to people to respond to the plight of refugees and victims of war, according to LACHR. In April, Cornell visited the Eleonas refugee camp in Greece, where he met with refugee children and their families.

Cornell committed suicide May 18 in a Detroit hotel room at 52 years old.

Vicky Cornell, the musician's widow, will accept the award on Cornell's behalf.

"(The Cornells') support of and dedication to Syrian refugee children languishing in refugee camps raises awareness for this ongoing, six-year crisis and provides hope to so many people who have lost it," Luu-Ng said.

Trip Oldfield, director for LACHR, said the campaign raised $105,000 in the fall for programs that help clients with psychological counseling, outpatient health care, legal support, advocacy and more.

"There are roughly 1.3 million torture survivors living in the United States, and this issue is closer to home than many of us think, with around 44 percent of refugees in the Los Angeles region having suffered from human rights abuses," Oldfield said.

The fundraising event will be at Cassia restaurant at 1314 Seventh St. in Santa Monica. For information, visit their website.

City News Service and Patch staffer Emily Holland contributed to this post; Photo of Chris Cornell via Andreas Eldh/Flickr