Immigrant web resources · strengthening cross-cultural communication among different African...

Web Resources: Immigrant Programs and Services

Tahirih Justice Center 6402 Arlington Blvd, Suite 300 Falls Church, VA 22042 (571) 282-6161 [email protected]

www.tahirih.org/

The Tahirih Justice Center works to protect immigrant women and girls seeking justice in the United States from gender-based violence. Leveraging both in-house and pro bono attorneys, they empower clients to achieve justice and equality through both direct legal services and national public policy advocacy. Tahirih has developed an innovative and comprehensive approach to address the acute and growing needs of immigrant women and girls fleeing violence. Their approach combines direct legal services, client-based public policy advocacy, and public education. For their innovative approach and commitment to managing high-quality programs, Tahirih received the 2007 Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management, along with many other awards.

Multicultural Clinical Center 6563 Edsall Road Springfield, VA 22151 (703) 354-0000 www.mccva.com [email protected]

Multicultural Clinical Center (MCC), located in Springfield, Virginia, provides cross-cultural outpatient diagnostic and treatment services for children, adolescents and adults. They provide services in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Urdu, Korean, Cambodian, Farsi, Hindi, Amharic, Krio, French, Pashtu, and Bangla. Their facilities include a diagnostic center, specialized services such as children/adolescent services, substance abuse services, sex offender services, and gang intervention services, as well as a variety of treatment modalities such as home-based counseling and play therapy. All evaluations and services are performed by bilingual, bicultural clinicians and all counselors are trained in cross-cultural home-based counseling. MCC also offers professional training, workshops and seminars to outside service providers, including local and county government personnel.

Virginia Child Protection Newsletter Volume 090

ECDC Center for African Refugees & Immigrants 901 S. Highland St. Arlington, VA 22204 (703) 685-0510 www.ecdc-cari.org [email protected]

The Center for African Refugees and Immigrants (CARI) is a national division of the Ethiopian Community Development Council, Inc. (ECDC). The idea for CARI arose from ECDC’s experience working with African newcomers, African community-based organizations (CBOs), and mainstream institutions. Over the course of two decades operating in the fields of refugee resettlement and service provision, the need for a national resource center focusing on issues of concern to African immigrants and refugees had become apparent, CARI was established for African refugees and immigrants and their allies in the United States. The mission of CARI is to promote the well-being of African refugees and immigrants by building the capacities of African CBOs, enhancing and broadening public knowledge and understanding of African refugee and immigrant issues/concerns, and strengthening cross-cultural communication among different African communities while building consensus about issues of concern to community members. In addition to providing a central place for locating many resources, CARI publishes The African Refugee Network Newsletter monthly. This newsletter examines the latest news and events relevant to African refugees living in the United States and abroad. Also, CARI has fostered the development of the African Resource Network (ARN), a network of ethnically diverse African CBOs located across the United States.

Korean Community Service Center of Greater Washington 7700 Little River Turnpike, Suite 406 Annandale, VA 22003 (703) 354-6345 www.kcscgw.org [email protected]

The Korean Community Service Center of Greater Washington’s mission is to assist and empower Asian Americans and new immigrants to become well-adjusted and fully contributing members of the United States. The KCSC understands the unique problems that exist in Asian Community and is devoted to helping members of the community in every possible way. Over the past thirty years, the KCSC has grown and expanded its programs to include language access, housing and job placement, youth initiatives, prevention of domestic violence, and health care.

KCSCGW offers a variety of services and programs to promote the well-being and quality life of the members of the Korean community through intervention guided by the principles of empowerment-based practice, culturally competent intervention, and community-based outreach. In addition, the KCSC also strives to develop customized assistance programs to meet various needs of Korean immigrants, help Korean immigrants expand their resource network to achieve economic self-sufficiency, support Korean immigrants to adjust to their new lifestyle and


environment through helping them familiarize with the American culture and improve English skills, and assist Korean immigrants become contributing members of the community through active involvement in various community activities.

Hispanic Committee of Virginia (HCV) 5827 Columbia Pike, 2nd Floor Falls Church, VA 22041 (703) 671-5666 www.hcva.org [email protected]

The mission of the Hispanic Committee of Virginia is to enable Hispanic immigrants to more fully contribute to and participate in American society. It is a community-based non-profit organization offering employment, immigration and social services as well as youth and adult education programs for Arlington County, Fairfax County and the City of Alexandria. The HCV began in 1967 in the Culmore neighborhood of Falls Church, providing services to Hispanics in Northern Virginia to help them overcome the isolating barriers of culture, language and poverty and become more self-sufficient. The Hispanic Committee staff includes more than 30 bilingual employees who hail from over 10 Latin American Countries and the United States. HCV has chosen to work towards its mission of alleviating poverty, furthering economic self-sufficiency, and promoting civic participation among Hispanic Americans by providing a wide range of program services and benefits, including information and referral, social services case management, immigration and legal services, help with home-buying/homeownership, support for micro-enterprise development, workforce development, adult education, and youth education.

Hispanos Unidos de Virginia 6400B Seven Corners Place Falls Church, VA 22044

703-533-1760 No Website

The mission of Hispanos Unidos is to raise the economic, educational, and social levels of disadvantaged community residents throughout Northern Virginia who suffer from substantial levels of unemployment. Among the services provided are job training and related employment services, a self-help housing program, support for individuals with the immigration process including assistance with completion of required forms, information and referral, interpretation/translation services for the Hispanic/Latino community members, tax preparation, and voter registration assistance. While services are primarily provided to Hispanics, services are available to persons of all ethnic backgrounds.


Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 10700 Midlothian Turnpike, Ste. 200 Richmond, VA 23235 (804) 378-4099 www.vahcc.com [email protected]

The Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (VAHCC) began in Richmond, VA, where La Siesta Restaurant was an informal meeting

place for Hispanics who were new to the area. La Siesta helped to form the Hispanic Cultural Institute and Siesta Town, a program designed to help school-aged children experience Latino culture and the Spanish language. It was then decided there was a need to establish organization on a statewide basis. Business and corporate leaders came together and formed the organization now known as the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The VAHCC works to unite the Americas and also to build bridges in order to create, promote and enhance business opportunities for members by providing linkage with special emphasis on the Hispanic community. Their vision is to build connections between new Americans and the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VAHCC serves to bridge the outstanding potential of the Latino workforce to mainstream American commerce.

Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce 14214 Washington Highway Ashland, VA 23005 PO Box 2640 Glen Allen, VA 23058 (804) 798-3975 www.aabac.org [email protected]

The mission of the Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce is to foster, increase, and maximize the economic potential of Virginia’s Asian Pacific American businesses by supporting their domestic and international business development efforts. The Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce provides value to its members by helping to create a strong pro-business agenda, collaborating with the statewide Virginia Chamber of Commerce in aggressively lobbying state government to support Virginia business interests, communicating information on the issues that impact Virginia Asian businesses to members, and connecting members to business leaders and policy makers in Virginia. Membership provides networking opportunities with local, state, and federal agencies and officials; policy makers; high level company executives; large and medium size companies; and entrepreneurs. The Chamber serves to bridge the Commonwealth's small Asian Pacific American population to each other and to the mainstream population. Year-round the Chamber presents a wide variety of programs providing its members with hundreds of opportunities to make profitable new business contacts and develop a network


of potential clients and customers. The Asian Chamber informs its members regularly on public policy developments in order to impact legislative actions which help to protect and strengthen Asian American business ownership in Virginia.

Ethiopian Community Development Council, Inc. 901 South Highland Street Arlington, Virginia 22204 (703) 685-0510 www.ecdcinternational.org [email protected]

The Ethiopian Community Development Council serves as a welcoming presence for African refugees and immigrants as well as a bridge for dialogue and education. The ECDC provides a helping hand to bring hope, workable solutions, and opportunities to the lives of thousands of refugees. ECDC conducts educational and social service programs that help newcomers resettle in their new communities and acculturate; recover from past trauma; gain personal independence and economic self-sufficiency; and quickly become able participants and productive, contributing members of American society. ECDC provides programs and services that assist newcomers to the country; fosters greater understanding among newcomers and the wider community; conducts outreach and education activities to increase public awareness about refugee and immigrant issues; promotes African community-based organizations increase their capacity to serve their local communities; promotes civic participation by newcomers in the decision-making process at the local, state, and national levels; provides cross-cultural training to service providers' on the diverse cultural backgrounds of the clients they work with; and assists in educational development and cultural preservation projects in Ethiopia.

The Somali Family Care Network 2724 Dorr Avenue, Suite 102 Fairfax, VA 22031 (703) 560-0005 www.somalifamily.org [email protected]

The Somali Family Care Network is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping all Somali groups in the United States work together to improve social

and economic opportunities for the Somali community. SFCN strives to empower Somali Community-Based Organizations (SCBO) and other refugees through capacity building and social mobilization activities that will aid refugees in their transition from dependency to self-sufficiency and integration into American society. SFCN aims to act as a national resource for the growing Somali immigrant community as well as for the refugee and mainstream service providers who interface with Somali communities in the U.S. SFCN's primary program at present is Project Himilo. “Himilo” in Somali means "to aspire". Through this project, SFCN


establishes a strong national network of Somali Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), which work together with other refugee service providers to foster and ensure the health and social well-being of Somali refugees resettled in the United States.

Boat People SOS 6066 Leesburg Pike, Suite 100 Falls Church, VA 22041 (703) 538-2190 www.bpsos.org [email protected]

Boat People SOS is a national Vietnamese-American community-based organization with the mission to empower, organize, and equip Vietnamese individuals and communities in their pursuit of liberty and dignity. With teams of qualified staff and passionate volunteers operating in 17 office locations

across the United States and internationally, they empower individuals, strengthen families, and build communities through direct services, advocacy, community organizing and development, media, and research. From rescuing boat people on the high seas to protecting workers' rights to training refugees with citizenship lessons and life skills to providing Katrina and Ike victims with relief services, BPSOS is there to help.

Commonwealth Catholic Charities – Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Services (Formerly Refugee and Immigration Services in Virginia (RIS))

1512 Willow Lawn Drive, P. O. Box 6565, 541 Luck Avenue, SW Richmond, VA 23230 Roanoke, VA 24016 Richmond: (804) 355-4559 Roanoke(540) 342-7561 http://www.cccofva.org/services/ris/refugeeresettlement.htm

[email protected]

CCC’s Immigrant Services strives to provide essential services, to build bridges and to foster a community climate of acceptance. The bilingual staff is accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals to provide immigration advice and assistance in completing immigration forms. They also help with resettling refugees. They partner with the community to assist those who have been uprooted to rebuild their lives. For 35 years, their program has welcomed the stranger, empowering those escaping persecution to begin new lives with dignity through early self-sufficiency. Through offices in Richmond, Roanoke, and Hampton over 14,600 refugees have been resettled from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Ukraine, Somalia, Cuba, Haiti, Iraq, Bosnia, Congo, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Afghanistan, Burundi, Bhutan, Burma, and Colombia. Some of the services they offer to refugees are furnished and food-stocked housing, airport pick-up with extra clothing and food, orientation to the community, intensive case management, early employment placement, orientation to English (ESL), family mentorship, and school liaison services for children.


Catholic Charities – Hogar Hispano (Falls Church) 6201 Leesburg Pike, Suite 307 Falls Church, VA 22044 (703) 534-9805 http://hogarimmigrantservices.org [email protected]

Hogar Immigrant Services responds to the Church’s call for social justice by welcoming strangers to this country, regardless of ethnicity, religion, nationality, or ability to pay. As a program of Catholic Charities, Hogar Immigrant Services' goal is to help immigrants to become self-sufficient and productive members of American society through bilingual outreach programs, including a continuum of networking, immigration legal services, citizenship classes, and English as a Second Language classes. They offer a combination of legal consultation & representation; language instruction & other educational programs; naturalization assistance; and social services. To implement the Church's commitment to social justice and the emphasis on "Welcoming the Stranger," the mission of Hogar Immigrant Services is to offer a wide range of services at little or no cost to a vulnerable immigrant population, without regard to religious or ethnic identity. Their aim is to assist newcomers in achieving their own goals of integrating successfully into American society, to work collegially with other social service organizations, and to do so in a supportive, welcoming, and professional manner.

Virginia Newcomer Health Program P.O. Box 2448 Richmond, Virginia 23218-2448 109 Governor Street Richmond, Virginia 23219 (804) 864-7911 http://www.vdh.state.va.us/Epidemiology/Disea

sePrevention/Programs/NewcomerHealth/abtnhp.htm [email protected]

The objective of the Newcomer Health Program (NHP) is to identify and eliminate health-related barriers to successful resettlement of Virginia's refugee population while protecting the health of the U.S. population. The VDH Newcomer Health Program coordinates and facilitates, with Virginia Department of Health local health departments, the initial health assessments of all newly arriving immigrants with a refugee or asylum status. The NHP collects data of refugee arrivals, health conditions and outcomes. The NHP awards small grant funds to districts most heavily impacted. The NHP assures timely notification to local health districts of any newly arrived immigrant or refugee identified with a classified tuberculosis condition. The NHP further coordinates and facilitates the transfer of Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) funds administered by the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Office of Newcomer Services (ONS), to VDH health districts for these initial health assessment services rendered.


Northern Virginia Family Services: Multicultural Human Services (Formerly the Center for Multicultural Affairs) 6400 Arlington Blvd. Suite 110 Falls Church, VA 22046 (703) 533-3302 www.nvfs.org/pages/page.asp?page_id=91698 [email protected]

This organization provides a broad range of mental health and social service-related services primarily for immigrants and refugees. Services are provided for children, adolescents, adults, and families. Two youth programs that are offered are 1-2-1 Mentoring, and Intervention, Prevention, and Education (IPE). Both are designed to help at-risk youth develop skills and attitudes that will help them become productive members of society. They also offer counseling in a range of areas including PSTT (Programs for Survivors of Torture & Severe Trauma), Immigration Legal Services, Mental Health Services, IPE, and Domestic Violence. For the PSTT program they also offer medical services and social services in addition to mental health and legal services.

Just Neighbors 5827 Columbia Pike Suite #320, Falls Church, Virginia 22041 (703) 979-1240 www.justneighbors.org [email protected]

The mission of Just Neighbors is to provide immigration legal services to low-income immigrants and refugees of all faiths and nationalities through their offices in Northern Virginia. Their team of attorneys, staff and committed volunteers offers hope and help as immigrants seek to navigate the current immigration system and access benefits that will enable them to become more contributing members of society. Through community outreach efforts and volunteer programs, Just Neighbors fosters mutual understanding between immigrants and the larger community in which they live. Specifically, Just Neighbors represents immigrants who are eligible to obtain benefits from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly INS). These benefits include: lawful permanent residence (green card), employment authorization (work permit), temporary protected status, deferred action for immigrant victims of crimes and domestic violence, advising immigrants who do not have a right to an immigration benefit at the present time, and conducting outreach in the community to inform immigrants and non-immigrants about immigration laws and policies. Just Neighbors strives to clarify the processes within the current immigration system for all interested parties.


Legal Aid Justice Center – Immigrant Advocacy Program Petersburg Richmond 37 Bollingbrook St. 123 East Broad St. Petersburg, VA 23803 Richmond, VA 23219 (804) 862-2205 (804) 643-1086 http://www.justice4all.org/our_programs/vjc [email protected]

The Immigrant Advocacy Program promotes systemic

reforms to address the underlying causes of the abuse

and exploitation occurring in connection with immigrant workers. They have helped migrant

farmworkers, day laborers, and other low-wage immigrant workers win judgments and

settlements totaling over $5 million in wages they had earned but were never paid. In Spanish,

the name is Programa de Abogacia Para el Inmigrante or "PAPI." Lawyers and advocates

prepare and distribute educational materials; visit areas where workers gather, work, and live to

counsel workers regarding their legal rights; help clients recover their unpaid wages in court or

through administrative proceedings; support immigrant community leaders and advocates in

their efforts to participate in the civic debate regarding issues of particular interest to Virginia’s

immigrants; promote public policies and systemic reforms that recognize the contributions of

hardworking immigrants to Virginia’s economy and communities; and reduce the abuse and

exploitation of immigrants.

University of Virginia School of Law 580 Massie Rd. Charlottesville, VA 22903 (434) 924-7354 http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/academics/immigration/community.htm

[email protected]

The Migrant Farmworkers Project (MFP)

Operated by a student organization called the Legal Assistance Society, the Migrant Farmworkers Project works with the Legal Aid Justice Center's Immigrant Advocacy Program to assist an isolated population often in need of legal counsel. The program represents immigrant workers and farmworkers throughout the state. Although the center handles mostly employment law cases, it also accepts housing and discrimination cases. Student members of the Migrant Farmworkers Project visit migrant farm labor camps and inform workers about their rights. The


project also seeks to increase awareness about the substandard treatment of immigrant workers and conditions in which they live and work. Students do not need to speak Spanish to participate.

International Rescue Committee Green Card Project

The regional office of the IRC in Charlottesville helps approximately 150 refugees each year, who are selected overseas as part of the U.S. refugee admissions program to resettle in Central Virginia. Refugees have come from Burma, Colombia, Somalia, Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia, Iran, Iraq and many other countries. After one year in the United States, they are eligible for full permanent resident (green card) status, but must complete a potentially daunting set of forms and records. For nearly a decade, Virginia Law students have partnered with the IRC to assist with this process and have also assumed other volunteer roles with the organization.

Immigrant Jail Outreach Project

In conjunction with the Capital Area Immigrants' Rights (CAIR) Coalition, law student volunteers are trained and then accompany CAIR Coalition attorneys to several local jails throughout Virginia housing hundreds of immigrant detainees. Following know-your-rights presentations, volunteers interview the immigrants to identify key issues that can reveal if they have any legal basis to fight deportation. CAIR tries to find pro bono counsel for those with legitimate claims to status who lack the resources to fund their own defense.

Progreso Hispano 4100 Mohawk Lane Alexandria, VA 22309 (703) 799-8830 http://progreso-hispano.org/ [email protected]

Progreso Hispano is a community development and advocacy non-profit 501 (c)(3), organization which seeks to serve immigrants and empower them to improve the quality of their lives and their communities through education, immigration services and leadership development. Progreso Hispano is dedicated to serving the immigrant community and facilitating their integration into their communities by providing educational courses in literacy, citizenship and computer skills. In addition they offer immigration workshops and services such as ESL programs, immigration services, citizenship information, and computer lab services.

Ayuda 46950 Community Plaza Suite 213 Sterling, VA 20164 (703) 444-7009 www.ayudainc.org [email protected]

Ayuda's mission is to protect the rights of low-income immigrants in the DC metropolitan area. They are the region's leading provider of multilingual legal and social


services for low-income immigrants in the areas of immigration, human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault. Their overall goal is to improve the ability of their clients to live safe, violence-free lives and become fully participating members of the community. The comprehensive and open approach gives all immigrants a single resource. All of the direct services staff is fluent in Spanish and some have additional language skills. They regularly work with qualified interpreters to serve clients who speak other languages. The programs include assistance with: immigration, human trafficking, domestic violence/sexual assault, Hermanas Unidas, Children’s Project, and a community legal interpreter bank.

Mexicanos Sin Fronteras, Woodbridge Workers Committee P.O. Box K Woodbridge, VA 22191 (703)969-0197 or (703) 822-3485 http://www.mexicanossinfronteras.org/wwc/index.htm [email protected]

The Woodbridge Workers Committee is a tax-exempt 501-c3 organization comprised of several hundred Woodbridge, Virginia area immigrant day laborers and a base of community volunteers. The Woodbridge day laborers have overwhelmingly recognized the Woodbridge Workers Committee (WWC) as their official representative organization by electing representatives and actively participating in the organization. The WWC Board of Directors, elected by the membership, functions through regular democratic decision-making meetings. The WWC works to obtain justice and dignity for immigrant workers by observing principles of solidarity, unity, mutual respect and democratic decision-making. Among the ongoing programs sponsored by Woodbridge Workers Committee are English classes, winter clothing and food distributions, a cultural program for Indigenous members in cooperation with the Piscataway Indian Nation, a wage recovery program, a legal representation program, and, most recently, development of the Serafin Negrete Alvarez Humanitarian Project in memory of a member murdered in a hate crime. The WWC also also serves as the principal link between the day laborers and their community and the broader community.

The Antioch University New England Multicultural Center for Research and Practice (Multicultural Center) Gargi Roysircar, PhD, Director 40 Avon Street, Keene, NH 03431 (603) 283-2186

http://www.multiculturalcenter.org/ Email: [email protected]

The Antioch University Multicultural Center is home to a research team that promotes multiculturalism within a social justice orientation. This research includes issues of minority or marginalized status, as related to race, ethnicity, culture, class, use of English as a second language, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, spirituality, and the elderly. It focuses on youth adults and families in the New England area. The Center works to develop products, workshops, and presentations on multicultural training as well as providing services to the community like mentoring, tutoring, assessment, outreach/awareness, and social gatherings.


With these programs the Center hopes to educate students, professionals, educators, and providers to promote social justice in multicultural services. Alongside these services the Center systematically collects data on best practices in providing multicultural services and assessment.

Virginia Poverty Law Center – Richmond Domestic & Sexual Violence Immigration Clinic Susheela Varky 700 East Franklin Street, Suite 1411 Richmond, VA 23219 (804) 782-9430 Ext. 33 Fax: (804) 649 3746 Email: [email protected] www.vplc.org

The Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC) has a mission to provide leaderhip, support, training, public education, and advocacy to address the civil legal needs of Virginia’s low-income population. Their legal staff specializes in areas of law that affect low-income Virginians. Through training and communications, they educate others about the legal rights of the poor and identify systemic problems and issues. They work collaboratively with Virginia’s Legal Aid community, other organizations and stakeholders to represent the interests of low-income Virginians in the courts, executive agencies and legislative bodies. Through a partnership with the Challa Law Offices, VPLC offers free clinics to low-income, undocumented immigrants who are victims of domestic or sexual violence. While the clinics are held in Richmond, they are open to any undocumented immigrant victims of domestic or sexual violence who live in Virginia and who can get to the clinics in Richmond. Victims have the opportunity to meet with attorneys to discuss their cases and determine whether they are candidates for U Visas or VAWA Self-Petitions.

Korean Central Senior Center 8539 Amanda Place Vienna, VA 22180 (703) 876-5545 No Website

Located in Korean Central Presbyterian Church, the Korean Central Senior Center provides senior day activities with a Korean lunch four days a week; Tuesday through Friday. Some of the day programs include classes in English, table tennis, flower arrangement and art.


Project Family (Arlington) Department of Human Services 2100 Washington Boulevard Arlington, Virginia 22204 (703) 228-1549 Email: [email protected] http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/HumanServices/services/family/proj_family/HumanServicesServicesFamilyProj_familyProjectFamily.aspx

Project Family is a free early childhood education and parenting program for speakers of other languages as well as English-speaking Arlington residents, parents, and children from pre-birth to age five. Project Family seeks to enhance parenting skills of participants and to prepare children for school. Project Family focuses on the whole child and teaches parents activities to promote the child's physical, language, cognitive, and social-emotional development; emphasizing the importance of routines and learning through play. Classes are culturally sensitive; provide support and networking opportunities; and familiarize parents with best practices related to child development, health, safety and nutrition. Classes are offered in Spanish, English, and bilingually.


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