With a federal grant, a domestic violence nonprofit wants to help undocumented victims

PROVIDENCE − Undocumented victims of domestic violence are some of the most vulnerable in Rhode Island, but with a new grant from the federal government, the nonprofit Sojourner House is hoping to ramp up its legal services for them.

Sojourner House was one of eight groups to receive a first-time grant from the Department of Justice aimed at offering legal services to the undocumented community for survivors of domestic abuse, sexual assault and human trafficking and their children.

"This will really allow us to expand," executive director Vanessa Volz said.

Sojourner House already has an immigration advocacy program for its undocumented clients. They help with U visas (victims of criminal activity), T visas (victims of human trafficking) and those petitioning for green cards under the Violence Against Women Act, which applies to victims of domestic violence perpetrated by a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident.

"This grant will let us help undocumented people with other legal matters, family law and things related to immigrant youth under 21 who qualify for special immigration status," Volz said.

The current immigration program at Sojourner House already has 200 active cases.

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"We don't do outreach," Volz said. "These are clients who find us, are referred to us, and we know that there is a great need."

The need, including for victims of human trafficking, far outstrips the ability of the nonprofit to offer help, with only 2½ staff positions.

"This will expand our capacity in a meaningful way," she said.

Undocumented immigrants face "real barriers" in civil society, Volz said.

"They're very hesitant to seek help, hesitant to report abuse, and this kind of service, it can be literally life-saving to these victims," she said.

It will take some time before the new program is completely up and running, but the need keeps growing, as evidenced by more migrants from across the world seeking asylum, with the Refugee Dream Center seeing 50 coming from the southern border in the last three months, as reported by Amy Russo last week.

Columnist Mark Patinkin also reported last year on the experience of recent emigres from the Haitian community in Rhode Island, who often arrive as poverty and gang violence continue to escalate. Read his story here.

What the new program and timeline will look like

The $400,000 will be distributed over two years, and the first year lets Sojourner House plan. The first step is to hire a program manager and then a licensed attorney. The group can apply for a funding extension for a third year.

The planning phase will take six to nine months, and then, nine months to a year into the program, they will start doing legal work. The contract with the Department of Justice started on Oct. 1.

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"We're going to hit the ground running with these things," Volz said.

Who else will get help under the new undocumented program?

Getting the additional attorney on staff will allow the group to begin helping those age 21 and younger to apply for a green card based on "special immigrant juvenile" status. It applies to children who have been abused, abandoned or neglected by their parents and are "dependent" on a state court or in the custody of a state agency.

"We've not had the capacity for any of those cases," she said.

The new attorney will also help children in the custody of the Department of Children, Youth and Families who don't have legal representation.

"There's way too much work to do," she said.

The program will fill a "huge gap," because many organizations can't help undocumented immigrants. For asylum-related legal services, the estimated price tag is at least $7,000.

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Group is already working on the housing front

Sojourner House does a lot of things, and chief among them is providing housing, as the overall housing market in Rhode Island has become severely restricted.

The nonprofit's budget has swelled to $8 million as it begins to bypass landlords and buy its own buildings to provide shelter to its clients, since secure housing is key to helping victims of domestic violence move on with their lives.

Read more about Sojourner House's housing expansion here.

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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Sojourner House to expand undocumented legal services with grant help