July 28, 2021
Clowes Fund Continues Support for Innovative Program for Immigrants in Western Massachusetts
BY (508) 425-2811 / lrichman@cwjustice.org
Central West Justice Center (CWJC), an affiliate of Community Legal Aid, is pleased to announce that it has received a two-year, $40,000 grant from the Clowes Fund to continue the Western Massachusetts Immigrant Legal Assistance Project.
Launched in 2019 with the support of the Clowes Fund, the Western Massachusetts Immigrant Legal Assistance Project allows CWJC to dedicate a case manager to work with low-income and elderly immigrant clients to help them identify appropriate services, make phone calls, schedule appointments, and navigate the complex systems and barriers they face. The Project is based in CWJC’s Springfield office, and provides services to immigrants in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin Counties.
CWJC’s Immigration Unit provides crucial, often life-changing legal assistance for vulnerable, low-income immigrants. Many of CWJC’s immigrant clients are children who have been abandoned, abused or neglected, or women who are victims of domestic violence, sex trafficking, or other crimes. While their cases are ongoing, these clients may struggle to meet their own basic needs, such as food security, stable housing, education, and healthcare.
CWJC Director Leticia Medina-Richman said, “The pandemic has only exacerbated the challenges our immigrant clients face accessing support and meeting their basic needs. While CWJC attorneys are navigating clients’ urgent legal issues, the Western Massachusetts Immigrant Legal Assistance Project’s Case Manager is able to connect them to necessary supports like access to health insurance, employment authorization documents and rental assistance. Dealing with these issues enables our clients to engage more fully in their legal cases.”
The Clowes Fund is a family foundation established in 1952, in Indianapolis, Indiana. It makes grants in Indianapolis; Seattle, Washington; Massachusetts; and northern New England to support human services, education and the arts.
The Central West Justice Center, an affiliate of Community Legal Aid, provides free legal help to low-income residents of Central and Western Massachusetts. Our advocates focus on cases involving humanitarian-based immigration law, employment rights, housing and homelessness issues, and access to public benefits. For more information about the Central West Justice Center visit www.cwjustice.org
Community Legal Aid provides free civil legal services to the low-income and elderly residents of the counties of Western and Central Massachusetts (Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester), and maintains offices in Worcester, Fitchburg, Springfield, Northampton, and Pittsfield. CLA works to assure fairness for all in the justice system, protecting homes, livelihoods, health, and families. For more information, please visit www.communitylegal.org.