De Novo Center for Justice and Healing

The legal program provides free civil legal aid to clients whose income is at or below 125% of the federal poverty level. The program provides a full range of services from advice to representation in complex litigation. Cases are handled in the areas of family law and domestic violence, housing and homelessness prevention, disability benefits, and immigration and refugee rights (including political asylum cases, special immigrant juveniles (sij) and relief for battered immigrants). Services were provided to 1,432 clients by a staff of 13 full-time and 1 part-time attorneys, and 48 volunteer lawyers, law students, paralegals, interpreters, asylum evaluators and administrative volunteers. Attorneys also conduct community legal trainings and collaborate extensively with community partners. Legal program staff make client referrals to the in-house counseling program as needed and frequently consult with counseling program staff to better meet clients' legal needs. Total donated hours 3,982.

The counseling program offers affordable counseling to low income individuals who have difficulty gaining access to mental health services in the community, most of whom are struggling with poverty, social isolation, depression, or anxiety, and/or are working to overcome the effects of violence, torture, sexual abuse, and incest. The program provides short-term, long-term and intermittent counseling for individuals, groups, and couples. It conducts forensic psychological assessments of immigrant trauma victims who seek legal status in the usa and provides social work services for immigrant and refugee victims of crime and political trauma. Services were provided to 467 clients by the executive director, a part-time staff psychologist, three full-time staff social workers, and a team of 16 volunteer mental health professionals.