Cambodian Outreach Project

Merrimack Valley Legal Services - 020106

Abstract Number: 020106

November 2002

Merrimack Valley Legal Services (MVLS) created the Cambodian Outreach Project (COP) to deliver civil legal services to Lowell's low-income Cambodian population. Lowell has the second largest Cambodian population in the United States, second only to Long Beach, California. The Cambodian-American community in Lowell has faced significant language and culture barriers that has prevented many Cambodian-Americans from obtaining civil legal assistance.

To meet these legal needs, MVLS hired a directing paralegal, a Cambodian member of the Lowell community, and assigned two part-time attorneys to work on the project. The project staff began to meet with various Cambodian organizations and community leaders in Lowell to inform them of the new partnership and enlisted advice and suggestions on ways to better serve the Cambodian community. In doing so, COP built a network of support while also acting as a bridge between community agencies.

Accessing linguistically and culturally isolated communities is often predicated on having staff who are familiar with, and often from, the target community. The MVLS directing paralegal, acting as a "cultural broker" for MVLS staff, has enabled MVLS to build a trusting relationship with the Cambodian community in Lowell. To ensure MVLS is serving the needs of the Cambodian community, COP conducted a community needs assessment meeting of clients and providers. As a result of the needs assessment, MVLS sponsored several educational workshops for community advocates and their clients. In addition, MVLS now represents an increasing number of Cambodian clients in various areas of civil law.

To learn more about this project, access the attachments below as PDF documents. MVLS' webpage is available at: http://www.mvlegal.org.

Contact Information:

Kenneth MacIver
Executive Director
Merrimack Valley Legal Services
35 John Street, Suite 302
Lowell, MA 01852
Phone: (978) 458-1465
Fax: (978) 458-3481
Email

Additional Information:

• Trang Nguyen, "Working with Linguistically and Culturally Isolated Communities: The Cambodian Outreach Project of Merrimack Valley Legal Services," Clearinghouse Review 37, No. 3 (May-June 2003) 79-83. (54kb, PDF)*

• Flyer (67kb, PDF)

• Utilizing Interpreters to Communicate with Clients (57kb, PDF)

*This article appears courtesy of Clearinghouse Review.

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