For Immediate Release
Friday, December 8, 2017
Contact: Glenaan O’Neil, Director
Phone: 512-715-4831, ext. 100
Email: Glenaan@lsvap.org
RELEASE: Lone Star Victims Advocacy Project Awarded Remote Legal Services Grant
Austin, TX -- Lone Star Victims Advocacy Project (LSVAP) is excited to announce that we received a grant of $25,000 from the Texas Bar Foundation to Implement Remote Immigration Legal Assistance for Survivors of Abuse.
LSVAP educates, advocates for, and provides free immigration legal services that empower immigrant survivors of abuse in under-served areas of Texas. Since opening our doors on September 1, 2017, we have served 300 clients (with 50 new clients each month), advocated for the implementation of 10 new policies in rural Texas encouraging immigrants to report abuse, and held 15 trainings across Texas.
This generous support from the Texas Bar Foundation will support our unique remote service delivery system in the 80 under-served rural counties in LSVAP’s service area. We do all of our work with clients over the phone, through the mail, or through video conference technology; LSVAP clients never have to travel to Austin. This system allows us to bring our cutting edge resources to rural Texas where there are few, if any, bilingual service providers. Private attorneys often charge $1500-$3000 for our services, which our indigent clients are unable to afford.
In addition to providing free immigration legal services, we educate the communities we serve by providing community presentations, bilingual resource materials, and structured trainings to law enforcement, shelter staff, and other community stakeholders. Our Department of Justice (DOJ) Accredited staff is bilingual and trained on cultural competency and best practices for working with immigrant victims.
Glenaan O’Neil, Executive Director of Lone Star Victims Advocacy Project, said:
“Lone Star Victims Advocacy Project works in rural areas to change Texas for the better -- one family and one community at a time. The Texas Bar Foundation's generous support will broaden our reach, connect much needed resources to under-served communities and help us save lives.”
Lone Star Victims Advocacy Project is a program of the Austin Community Foundation.
Since its inception in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $18 million in grants to law-related programs. Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation’s largest charitably-funded bar foundation.