Elderly and low-income residents of Jackson County deserve equal access to justice!

Center for NonProfit Legal Services (CNPLS) provides high quality legal representation to elderly and low-income residents of Jackson County. Clients include individuals or families living at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty level and/or are over 60, who struggle with problems stemming from poor health care, inadequate education, a lack of food, a scarcity of jobs, domestic violence, and other life-and death survival issues. The goal is not to “win” cases, but to bring legal structure to social problems.

CNPLS client needs include immigration law for Ukrainian refugees, unaccompanied minors, survivors of trauma, Dreamers, and elderly citizenship applicants; contested custody cases involving minor children, and other essential legal services that would otherwise be inaccessible for low-income and elderly folks.

Funds will be used to assist clients with payments for essential elements of their case that CNPLS cannot assist with due to funding restrictions, such as: immigration medical exam, passport photos, bus pass, bus transportation to Portland for work permit appointment, and more.

Round up this January to help provide equal access to justice! The Immigration Law Project at the Center for NonProfit Legal Services provides equal access to justice, as well as safety, security and services for immigrant youth and children living here in the Rogue Valley.

The Center for NonProfit Legal Services mission is to secure justice for, and protect the rights of needy persons residing in Jackson County so that such persons shall not by reason of being in financial need, be denied equal protection under the law. The Immigration Law Project at CNPLS assists Rogue Valley residents with applications for citizenship, legal permanent residency, DACA, and other family-based applications. They prioritize families and individuals experiencing violence and unsafe living situations, and a recent influx of children and youth has expanded their work to include additional services for these most vulnerable populations.

There is an emergent need to support children and youth in Jackson County who have arrived in the United States as asylum applicants with their families, as vulnerable youth, or as unaccompanied minors. According to statistics gathered by human rights organizations, this is a troubling new trend. The number of children making the treacherous journey alone and unaccompanied, has doubled each year since 2011. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says children leaving Central America are doing so for varied reasons, including violence and persecution, and expresses concern for children who may face harm if returned home. Children fleeing violence should be able to tell their stories and have continued access to asylum procedures in the United States.

The Immigration Law Project at CNPLS already has a high caseload assisting adult and minor survivors of crime, and so the Positive Change funds will assist with an expanded program to include helping unaccompanied minors and vulnerable youth to make sure that these young immigrants are safe in the United States. This entails filing guardianship applications, dependency petitions, and immigration applications. It is the duty of CNPLS to provide equal access to justice for these children and vulnerable youth, who have no other recourse.