Limited English Proficiency (L.E.P.) Resources: Projects
Domestic Violence Project for Latinas and Asian Women
Philadelphia Legal Assistance Center - 030075
Abstract Number: 030075
April 2003
Philadelphia Legal Assistance Center (PLA) created a domestic violence project for Latinas and Asian Women to provide legal services to Latina and Asian victims of domestic violence in Philadelphia. This current project grew out of a Skadden fellow's work conducting outreach to Latina victims of domestic violence in the mid-1990s through Congreso de Latinos Unidos, a community and social services center serving the Latino population in Philadelphia. From this initial involvement, PLA expanded its presence at Congreso and continues to regularly provide services and legal assistance to Latina women on domestic violence and family law issues. Many women are referred to PLA through Congreso's domestic violence program that provides support services such as counseling, housing assistance and other social services to each individual victim. PLA then provides legal representation in all domestic relations areas including protection from abuse, custody, support and divorce. In tandem, PLA and Congreso help provide services for a domestic violence victim's holistic needs.
Upon receiving a grant from the Office on Violence Against Women to expand this project, PLA decided to augment its family law services to the Asian community living in Philadelphia. Philadelphia's Asian community has different priorities and required a different approach to delivering legal services. While the community based lawyering model proved successful for Latino population in Philadelphia, PLA found that they were unable to apply this model to the Asian community due to the extreme privacy demanded by Asian clients. Consequently, PLA concluded that staffing an office in a community center was not advisable. PLA hired a paralegal with language skills and devoted most of the project's resources to building networks and conducting outreach to ensure Philadelphia's Asian community was aware of the services PLA provides. To provide services, PLA uses translators and interpreters and can access phone-based translation services to meet a client's language needs. In addition to delivering services, staff attorneys and paralegals from PLA's family law unit are involved with the Interpersonal Violence in the Asian Community Task Force and the Congreso Latina Domestic Violence Program Advisory Council.
Contact Information:
Stephanie Gonzalez Ferrandez Supervising Attorney Philadelphia Legal Assistance Center 1424 Chestnut Street 2nd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19102 Phone: (215) 981-3837 Fax: (215) 981-3860 Email
LSC:
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