Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Hispanic Legal Clinic

We have been looking for ways to serve the Hispanic Community. As the saying goes, ask and ye shall receive.

The Catholic Latino Ministry Office of the Diocese has asked us to host a free legal clinic. They have a bilingual lawyer who is currently offering pro bono work and needs to relocate. The lawyer specializes in immigration issues but can also provide guidance for any legal questions.

This service is very much needed by the Hispanic community and is one of the things they asked for.

It is our job to provide hospitality and a warm welcome. One of the front parlor rooms would be a cozy and private place for the lawyer to do her consultations. We need to organize people as they arrive so that they see the lawyer on a first come, first served basis. Everyone else will wait in the main living room or dining room areas. We'd like to serve refreshments and just be generally hospitable. Some of the people are coming to talk about difficult legal issues and may be wary of trusting us, so the more we can do to help them feel comfortable, the better.

This will be the first Thursday of every month from 6:00-8:00 in the evening, starting next week: March 5th.

We'll start setting up around 5:30.

Our live-in volunteer Pat will be working this by himself, so please sign up to help! You don't need to speak Spanish at all, although this would be a perfect time to practice if you were looking for an opportunity. The only language you need to speak is the language of hospitality.

Thanks to Fr. Pat and Dale for setting this in motion!

Note: The Director of Latino Ministry for the Diocese is going to meet with us at 6:00 pm on Monday, March 2nd. If you are interested in attending, please meet us at the house. We'll be touring the neighborhood shortly thereafter.

1 comment:

crystal stanton said...

This is so sweet. I am trying to get help. I have a 2 yr old girl and her father is in prison for a big mistake.I didnt have money to get someone to fight for him in court so they sent him to prison. He could have got off, it was a lie and they couldnt prove anything any way. But seen how he didnt have anybody to help he couldnt fight it.Now i am here by my self with my baby and no money no one will hier me.My rent is wayy past due and I cant find no one to help me out. I need someone to help me get him out of prison. He gets out in aug. but they are going to deport him. Then what am i going to do!?!?!? my baby will never know her dad. I cant do this on my own anymore. I dont know what I can do about all this but please please, if someone knows what will help let me know.