POV’s Legal Advocacy Project in the Time of COVID-19
COVID-19 has definitely shifted the way we all work with clients and has presented unique challenges to advocacy. Due to the pandemic’s unprecedented nature, the Legal Advocacy Project team has had to transition to working remotely from home. But although we are no longer in the office, the team is just as equipped to help. Appointments have been transitioned from in person to phone/video calls, and the team makes themselves accessible to survivors via email or phone. To assure safety, there are no in-person appointments unless required. The team makes sure to accommodate the needs of clients as much as possible by providing documents via email, fax, mail, or in-person pickup from our office as well. Although this way of working was an adjustment, as a division, we have quickly adapted.
In the last few months, we have seen a rise in requests for restraining orders and divorce. Meanwhile, there has been a drop in requests for immigration services. We are actively taking clients, and are committed to community engagement to remind clients that we are still here, providing immigration and family law services free of charge.
The Legal Advocacy Project is currently accepting referrals for both family law and immigration. Our family law team specializes in filings for domestic violence restraining orders, divorce, child custody, child support, and representation in court when needed. Our immigration team specializes in filing for U nonimmigrant status (U-Visa), Naturalization, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and petitions to remove conditions on a green card based on domestic violence. In the following months, our immigration team will also be taking DACA cases (renewal and new applications) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Learn more about POV’s Legal Advocacy Project here or connect directly with Lizeth via email lap@peaceoverviolence.org.
If you are a survivor in need of legal assistance, call 213-955-9090 or 626-584-6191 for assistance.
Hello, I am Lizeth Castillo and I took over POV’s Legal Advocacy Project in October of 2020. Before coming to Peace Over Violence, I worked at the Immigration Center for Women and Children in Downtown Los Angeles; before that, I worked at the Manhattan Family Justice Center as an attorney with the New York Legal Assistance Group. I have been working as an immigration attorney for more than six years and have been working with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault for about five years. I love this work, and humanitarian immigration is where my heart lies.