Civil Advocacy Program

The Civil Advocacy Program forms the core of our legal services program, providing assistance to individuals and families in Central Virginia who face legal dilemmas related to housing, public benefits, employment, consumer protection, or the rights of the elderly, institutionalized persons, and other vulnerable populations. Our clients are the working poor and others who struggle to escape poverty.  The Civil Advocacy Program helps clients gain a voice, and a fairer footing, in our legal system. 

JustChildren

At JustChildren we confront the damaging effects of poverty on children in Virginia –  including the lack of educational success and over-involvement in the juvenile and criminal justice systems – through multiple advocacy strategies.  Our job is to reinforce each of the concentric circles of care that exist around our children-clients.  We have JustChildren programs in our Richmond, Petersburg, and Charlottesville offices.  In Charlottesville, we also supervise the Child Advocacy Clinic at the University of Virginia School of Law.

Immigrant Advocacy Program (formerly Virginia Justice Center for Farm and Immigrant Workers)

One in ten Virginians was born outside of the United States, and hundreds of thousands of low-wage immigrant workers live and work in Virginia.  Language barriers and unfamiliarity with the U.S. legal system make.. them vulnerable to exploitation, and frequently they go unpaid, work in sub-standard conditions, and suffer high rates of workplace injury.  They often have nowhere to turn when problems arise.  The Immigrant Advocacy Program – operating out of offices in Charlottesville and Northern Virginia with a staff that is fluent in Spanish – reaches out to provide them with help and hope.