Sojourner House, a Providence-based nonprofit, has one of eight grants as part of a new program from the Department of Justice鈥檚 Office on Violence Against Women, allowing the organization to provide more extensive legal services.
Founded in 1976 by Brown students and Providence residents, Sojourner House provides 鈥渟upport, advocacy, housing and education鈥� for survivors of domestic abuse, sexual assault and other gender-based violence, according to the organization鈥檚 .
The two-year, $400,000 is part of the 鈥淓xpanding Legal Services Initiative,鈥� which is meant to create programs that 鈥減rovide legal representation to survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence or stalking,鈥� according to a DOJ .听
According to Gloria Greenfield, deputy director of operations at Sojourner House, legal support is an important resource for the organization鈥檚 clients. 鈥淰ictims of domestic violence have many legal issues,鈥� she said, including 鈥渃ustody issues, child support issues (and) divorce issues.鈥澛�
The grant money, she said, will be put toward hiring a project coordinator to oversee the creation of the legal services program, as well as an attorney, who will widen the scope of clients that Sojourner House can help.
鈥淚n the agency鈥檚 47-year history, we鈥檝e never had a licensed attorney on staff to provide client programmatic support, and this transformative grant will change that,鈥� Executive Director of Sojourner House Vanessa Volz said in a . 鈥淚t will enable us to expand the range of legal issues that we can address and also help us to better serve some of our community鈥檚 most vulnerable victims 鈥� adult immigrants and undocumented children who have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault or human trafficking.鈥�
Accredited by the DOJ in 2012, Sojourner House can currently represent clients in immigration cases, which are considered administrative. The organization has helped over 400 people obtain legal status, Greenfield said.
But restrictions associated with not having a licensed attorney on staff have prevented the organization from helping clients in many cases, Greenfield added.
One such issue, she explained, is that Sojourner House has been unable to help unaccompanied minors who were 鈥渧ictims in their home countries.鈥� These minors are eligible for special immigrant juvenile status, which makes applying for legal status easier.
But applying for special immigrant juvenile status requires having an attorney go to court. 鈥淲e can do the immigration part. 鈥� We just need the attorney to go to court,鈥� Greenfield said, adding that this grant will allow Sojourner House to close that 鈥済ap.鈥�
In addition to supporting clients who are immigrants and survivors of abuse, the program will provide legal representation for housing, custody and divorce cases, according to the press release.
Annell Vidal, director of immigration advocacy for Sojourner House, said that the organization hopes to 鈥済row the legal department鈥� in order to serve more individuals facing a greater variety of challenges.
Besides plans for the new grant, Sojourner House is also working on renovating newly acquired properties and is engaged in a capital campaign to pay off the mortgage for their drop-in center on Westminster Street. According to Greenfield, housing is the most 鈥渂asic need鈥� of many people who seek assistance from Sojourner House, and renovating these properties will allow the organization to better meet this need.听
