New York State’s Liberty Defense Project and Catholic Charities of
the Archdiocese of New York today announced the formal launch of CatholicCharitiesNYProBono.org
The new online platform, funded by the Liberty Defense Project, gives
volunteers the tools to competently and effectively assist the most
vulnerable immigrants. The all-inclusive site provides volunteers with
the ability to review available cases, sign up for short-term and case
placement volunteer opportunities, learn more about the work of the Pro
Bono Project and access a wealth of training materials and practice
templates. The online volunteer portal comes with more than 100 practice
tools and web-based trainings, with new materials added as needed.
New York State Secretary of State Rossana Rosado
said, “The immigration issue is complex and becoming increasingly tinged
with uncertainties for families trying to navigate the process. People
need help and they need it now. This new tool will help countless
immigrant families across New York State, and we are honored to partner
with Catholic Charities to support this important resource. The Pro Bono
Project is a smart, efficient program to get more legal aid in the
pipeline to help those in dire need of assistance.”
Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York,
said, “Catholic Charities is working to ensure that immigrants across
New York have access to legal counsel and assistance to navigate a
complex and often frustrating system. Our new Pro Bono Project mitigates
the gap in immigrant representation throughout New York State by
creating capacity through pro bono mentorship. Volunteers will be the
helping hand that creates hope and guides them toward greater safety and
security, to live their lives with a stronger, more stable foundation.”
Patricia Gunning, Catholic Charities Pro Bono Volunteer Advocate,
said, “I decided to volunteer with the Catholic Charities at a
difficult time in my life. I had lost my job and was at a crossroad,
trying to figure out next steps and feeling really down. I knew that I
needed to step outside my comfort zone in order to grow and move toward
the next step in my career. I went to one of the Community Legal Clinics
and ended up taking my first case with the Pro Bono Project shortly
after - helping a young girl who had been the victim of sexual abuse in
the United States. Over time, I got to know her and her family and began
to understand the breadth of issues facing undocumented individuals in a
way that went way beyond the headlines. The experience helped me regain
my footing, and at the same time helped them potentially gain a path to
citizenship. I am learning a new area of the law and find it both
personally and professionally rewarding.”
Every Pro Bono Project volunteer advocate will receive expert legal
training and mentorship in each stage of a case and at each service
event in which they choose to participate, so that each client will
receive the highest quality assistance, in furtherance of Catholic
Charities’ mission to recognize the dignity of each person and strive
for a just and compassionate society.
Through the Pro Bono Project, Catholic Charities teaches volunteer advocates to:
Prepare affirmative asylum applications for individuals afraid to return to their homes;
Litigate asylum cases for mothers and children fleeing gang violence in Central America;
Help unaccompanied immigrant children obtain special humanitarian protection due to abuse, neglect or abandonment;
Empower survivors of violence to find safety, stability, and status
through US immigration laws designed to protect victims of crime,
trafficking, and familial abuse;
Assist immigrants to reunify with family members, both here and through overseas processing.
On the website, volunteers can simply choose to express their
interest as well as search and review available cases that need legal
representation. The Pro Bono Project recruits and engages volunteer
attorneys in numerous ways including bi-monthly newsletters, building on
existing law firm relationships as well as creating new partnerships
with firms through outreach, engagement with local bar associations
throughout New York State, and individual connectivity with private bar
attorneys who express interest through a variety of channels,
agency-wide. Private bar pro bono volunteer advocates’ (PBVAs) caseload
will be approximately one to two cases per volunteer attorney, where
firms will see more of a variance, on average, two to ten per firm.
To date, Catholic Charities has placed 105 pro bono cases with
volunteer attorneys throughout New York State. Their Pro Bono Volunteer
Advocate network has grown to more than 230 dedicated volunteer
attorneys, and more than 600 New Yorkers reached out to Catholic
Charities following the family separation crisis last summer to learn
about how they could support efforts, including more than 265 attorneys
expressing interest in joining the Pro Bono Project.
Source: The Department of State
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