July 10, 2024 • 18 mins
Aired July 7, 2024:
For 50 years, The Los Angeles Center for Law & Justice has offered legal services for communities facing multiple barriers to accessing justice. Their mission? To secure justice for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, empowering them to shape their own futures. Unfortunately, about 80% of family law cases involve at least one self-represented individual, totaling over 16,000 survivors in LA County who are navigating their legal battles alone. Lack of access to legal representation puts survivors at risk of losing crucial protections and rights.
LACLJ is like a non-profit law firm with a full staff of social workers. LACLJ provides survivors with expert legal representation and dedicated advocacy both inside and outside the courtroom. Their commitment extends beyond addressing legal challenges, as they also connect families to essential resources, fostering self-sufficiency and creating more hopeful futures. Our center even includes several social workers on staff.
LACLJ’s core legal services include:
If you feel unsafe and are in need of protection, dial 911.
If you need crisis support, immediate assistance, or shelter 24 hours a day/7 days a week, please reach out to:
the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or by texting 233733
(some stats from their website)
DOMESTIC ABUSE
Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice
5301 Whittier Blvd., 4th Floor
Phone (323) 980-3500
Email: info@LACLJ.org **www.LACLJ.org
For 50 years, The Los Angeles Center for Law & Justice has offered legal services for communities facing multiple barriers to accessing justice. Their mission? To secure justice for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, empowering them to shape their own futures. Unfortunately, about 80% of family law cases involve at least one self-represented individual, totaling over 16,000 survivors in LA County who are navigating their legal battles alone. Lack of access to legal representation puts survivors at risk of losing crucial protections and rights.
LACLJ is like a non-profit law firm with a full staff of social workers. LACLJ provides survivors with expert legal representation and dedicated advocacy both inside and outside the courtroom. Their commitment extends beyond addressing legal challenges, as they also connect families to essential resources, fostering self-sufficiency and creating more hopeful futures. Our center even includes several social workers on staff.
LACLJ’s core legal services include:
- Domestic Violence Restraining Orders
- Family Law (Custody, divorce, paternity)
- Immigration (VAWA, U Visa, T Visa, SIJS, Adjustment of Status, DACA, Removal Defense)
- Civil Advocacy
- Criminal Justice Advocacy
If you feel unsafe and are in need of protection, dial 911.
If you need crisis support, immediate assistance, or shelter 24 hours a day/7 days a week, please reach out to:
the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)
the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or by texting 233733
(some stats from their website)
DOMESTIC ABUSE
- 34.9 % of California women suffer intimate partner physical violence in their lifetime
- 31.1% of California men experience intimate partner physical violence in their lifetime
- 166,890 domestic violence-related calls made to L.A. law enforcement in 2018
- There were 3,869 sexual assaults in 2022 across Los Angeles County
- Over 18,000 reported rape Incidents in California in 2023
- Among LAUSD High school students, 6.7% (13,854) reported physical date violence
- California has the highest rate of human trafficking in the US (1,334 cases, 2,122 survivors)
- In 2018 almost 1 in 10 homeless individuals reported to be sex or labor trafficked in LA county
- Approximately one in five homeless youth in California has experienced some form trafficking,
- 14% experiencing sex trafficking
- 8% experiencing labor trafficking
- 3% experiencing forms of both
- 14% experiencing sex trafficking
- YWCA of Greater Los Angeles: 877-943-5778
- East LA Women’s Center: 800-585-6231
- Strength United: (818) 886-0453 or (661) 253-0258
Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice
5301 Whittier Blvd., 4th Floor
Phone (323) 980-3500
Email: info@LACLJ.org **www.LACLJ.org
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi is Lisa Fox, and thisis the iHeart So Cal Show, our
show that puts the spotlight on charitableorganizations, nonprofits and people giving back.
And for fifty years, the LosAngeles Center for Law and Justice has been
giving back by offering free legal servicesto those who are dealing with issues of
domestic violence, also sexual assault,family law, human trafficking, and more.
(00:23):
The Los Angeles Center for Law andJustice provides survivors with expert legal representation
and dedicated advocacy both inside and outsidethe courtroom. There's so much that they're
doing for people, we wanted todo a radio show about it and make
sure that you knew that this freelegal help was available. The website for
the Los Angeles Center for Law andJustice is LACLJ dot org. And on
(00:47):
to tell us all about what theydo is their executive director, Carmen McDonald.
Hi. Carmen, Hi, Lisa. Thank you so much for having
me. Of course, well,I've got so many questions, but just
thank you so much, first andforemost for helping so many people. Yes,
absolutely, our work, you knowis to secure justice for survivors of
domestic violence and sexual assault. Wealso work with human trafficking survivors, and
(01:11):
our goal is to empower them tocreate their own futures. You know,
where they really are making the decisionsabout their goals and motivations and what makes
them happy. And we're really hereto stand with survivors and support them along
their journey. So essentially, youknow, you guys are like a nonprofit
law firm, right with a fullstaff of people helping people in the courtroom,
with all this legal jargon, andall for free. That's right.
(01:36):
We are a nonprofit law firm,so that means we don't charge at all
for any of our services. They'refree. We're supported by different grants and
private donors. We provide free legalservices. We have about fifteen amazing lawyers.
Our services are around the areas offamily law where we secure restraining orders
and custody orders for survivors, andthen we also do humanitarian immgrisation petitions for
(02:00):
survivors because a lot of time theirimmigration status is used against them as a
way to control, exercise power andcontrol over survivors. And so we have
a staff of about forty two whocite for our clients every day in court
with their family law and immigration cases. But We also have an amazing model
(02:22):
where we have social workers on staffand they're integrated into the legal team.
And that's important because our clients oftendon't just have one issue going on in
their life or even one victimization.They have issues around homelessness or food insecurity,
or it could be a sexual assaultsurvivor and trafficking survivor, and so
we have sort of a multidisciplinary approachto trying to meet our clients needs,
(02:47):
meet our clients where they're at,and truly help them secure justice. So
again, you want to put theword out there that you are here to
help people dealing with domestic violence issues, restrict orders, family law that includes
custody issues, divorce issues, paterneyissues. Yes, so our primary practice
areas are family law and immigration,and the family law cases we help folks
(03:13):
obtain a restraining order, and therestraining order can also include things like custody
and visitation orders. And then wedo do the other types of family law
cases around divorce, a paternity wheresomeone apparent, paternity cases where they're not
legally married but they might still needchild support and custody orders. So we
provide whatever the services are our clientsneed, and if we don't have it
(03:35):
in house, we have a veryrobust pro bono panel where will pair folks
with private attorneys who donate their timeand services to help support our clients.
And our immigration attorneys help with ourhumanitarian based petitions. So in cases where
someone's a survivor of domestic silence ora crime or human trafficking, there's certain
immigration relief that we can help themapply for. Yeah, and see,
(03:57):
there's so much that people don't know. Like you said, we don't most
of us don't know how the lawworks, or what it's on our side
or not on our side, oreven just the legal terms, or what
things we can ask for or fightfor. I mean, we got Google,
you know, we're just googling stuffif you even know what to google.
And now thanks to you guys,the Los Angeles Center for Law and
Justice, you are in people's cornerand no charge in the core room.
(04:21):
And for over fifty years you've beendoing this. Yeah, that's right.
We have a strong legacy and fightingfor survivors and for justice. You know,
we started I understand we were partof like the Chief g Onal Rights
movement, you know, in theheart of East LA fighting against things like
police brutality for people of color.We were helping women who were being involuntarily
(04:42):
sterilized at Counting Hospital based on youknow, often being a person of color
or having a mental health issue.Like our roots are in advocacy and justice
and we're just really proud to beable to serve the community. When did
you get into this? How longhave you been with them? And when
did you decide that you wanted todo this as you're life's passion helping people.
Oh I love that question. Youknow. I've been with the center
(05:03):
for eleven years now. I startedas a supervising attorney of the family law
team, and I moved up throughthe rank. So if they say,
but I have been an attorney nowfor twenty years and this is all I've
ever done or wanted to do inlaw school, yeah, I considered I
wanted to do some kind of workfor the community. I was really passionate
(05:25):
about doing like criminal defense work,and I did an internship with the Public
Defender's Office and they ended up havinga hiring freeze. But I also worked
at a woman's shelter in law school, and that's where I really saw the
impact of getting that lawyer to helpstand with someone and support them and fight
for them. And then I endedup working at my first organization was also
(05:47):
a domestic violence organization called Break theCycle. And so my entire legal practice
has just been in legal services,and so I really appreciate doing this work,
like I know what my staff that'sgoing through, I know what the
team needs, I know what clientsneed. And going back further, my
parents are Cuban refugees and my entirelife, they talked to me about what
(06:12):
freedoms and rights mean. You know, they lost the freedom of speech,
the freedom to vote, the freedomto practice religion. So I understood that
we here have these rights that areso critical, and that's really what even
led me to go to law school. So it's just like who I am.
I just want to give you alittle little of this, my gosh,
(06:33):
inspiring us all already, and lookat you did something about it,
and now you have the power asa lawyer, and through the Los Angeles
Center for Law and Justice, youare helping so many and like you mentioned
domestic violence, my gosh, forpeople to even know that services like your
free services exist must be what aGod send because these people must be going
(06:54):
through, you know, through ahorrific time already. Then you know that
somebody is in their corner and hastheir back, is going to help them
get their lives back on track andlegally talk about that process. So god
forbid someone's in one of these situations. We know your website lac LJ dot
org. So it's Los Angeles Centerfor Law and Justice. Lac LJ dot
(07:15):
org is their website. First ofall, we're you know, we're doing
this radio interview so they can knowyou exist. And second of all,
so they can reach out to you. That way they tell you their story.
How does the process work? IfI need your services? What do
I do? Yeah, thank youfor asking that. I'm for this opportunity
because we really want everyone to knowwe are here for you. If you're
hearing this. If you know someonein that situation, have them reach out
(07:36):
through our website. There's an applylink online, ask a few questions and
it goes to our intake screeners.Folks can also call us our phone numbers
also on the website. And ifyou also need help, you know there's
a National Domestic Violence hotline that willlink you to legal services in your community.
(07:57):
We're here in La County, butwe it's call for help and get
linked in Los Angeles. You cancall two one one and you get linked
into the domestic violence hotline and they'llrefer you. But for us, as
you said, you can go onthe website and apply the processes. You'll
be asked you identify as a survivor. We don't need any proof for documentation.
If you've experienced this, we're herefor you. We do help low
(08:18):
income folks in the Los Angeles Countyarea, and where we can't help,
we make sure to do a warmreferral. We are partnered with over twenty
community organizations in Los Angeles, sothe rape Crisis Center, the domestic violence
crisis centers, the courthouse, othercommunity organizations, so we they will link
you to us, or we canlink folks to other services as needed.
(08:41):
Now for human trafficking, which isagain another horrible thing that's happening to anybody.
But how common is this and whatare you able to do to help
people coming out of these situations?Oh? And you know what we discovered
with human trafficking is it existed inour current population. When we started asking
a few different questions like whether someonehad ever withheld your identity documents or whether
(09:05):
you'd worked for someone and didn't receiveyour pay. So we were, as
much as it's sad, like thrilledto discover that, like if we just
screened a little better, a littlemore holistically, we were finding that our
clients did have these multiple issues andidentities and difficulties and victimizations. But the
resources out there are there. Ifyou're undocumented, there's a t visa,
(09:28):
a trafficking visa that you're eligible toapply for. There's also restitution if let's
say that you had wages withheld,we can help go after an employer.
And then there's a lot of otherissues with trafficking and domestic violence that can
be really scary, but we're partneredwith like CAST, the Coalition to Abolished
Slavery and Trafficking. We can helptry to link folks to shelters or to
(09:52):
other needs that they may have.And so it's really just important to like
reach out and talk to a lawyer. It's very, very very important to
talk to a lawyer that knows yourrights and that can explain. It's something
we really try to do, likegive that initial consultation where sometimes folks don't
even know that they've been trafficked,they don't know that what they're suffering is
abuse. I can't tell you howmany people say, well, I wasn't
(10:16):
abused, but I was not allowedto leave my house when I wanted to,
or oh, they just pulled myhair. Like there's a lot of
minimization that happens, and we canhelp talk about what is going on that
actually does qualify for legal remedies andagain offering your services for free commons with
the Los Angeles Center for Law andJustice. Their website with their phone number.
(10:39):
It's all right there, LACLJ dotorg, LACLJ dot org. You
cover things in terms of helping peoplewith domestic violence, sexual assault, human
trafficking. We touched on family law, helping people with custody, divorce,
and paternity issues. Immigration. Now, how does the immigration part work?
Is that for people with family membersor like who how do you know who
(11:01):
needs help and how does that partof it work for immigration issues? That's
a good question. It could befor the person who is a survivor,
but often there are qualifying family membersas well, So sometimes we might be
helping a mom and who has childrenwho are also undocumented. We've helped reunite
parents with children who live maybe inanother country still, so it will be
(11:24):
primarily the person who has been victimized, but then there might be qualifying family
members, which also makes it criticalto talk to a lawyer who understands.
We also do a lot of workaround unaccompanied minors. So maybe a child
has ended up in the US bythemselves and has been abused or abandoned or
neglected. So what's most important isto make that phone call so that we
(11:45):
can screen. We do a reallycomprehensive assessment that will ask all these questions
like how did you get here,who are you related to, what status
that your family members have, Likewe will scream because the immigration system is
super complicated, but that's why wehave this amazing team of lawyers who this
is all they do. Like theyare experts in the field of domestic violence,
(12:07):
social thought, and human trafficking andwhat the laws provide. And your
thing is like, hey, trustus, We're here to help you.
Just trust us. Tell us thereal story, tell us the truth,
and we will help you no matterhow crazy it all gets. We're going
to help you sort through this andfigure out your future so you can you
know you're here. Let's make ita blessed life as best we can.
Right, Absolutely, yes, andthat's the beauty of talking to an attorney.
(12:31):
What you talk about is confidential,and why our social work model is
integrated into our legal team is becausewe do not ever tell what you tell
us, so it is free,it is confidential, and we will give
you that real advice based on yourfacts. So don't just listen to like
what your friends said happen to them, because every case is very different under
(12:52):
the law, and that's why youwant to absolutely have that call with the
lawyer. And sometimes our advice islike, don't do any thing, but
we don't know until we know aboutyour story. And then when they come
to your office on WHITTERR Boulevard isEast LA. You said you guys are
in East LA. Yes, ouroffice is an East LA. Yeah,
because we deal with domestic violence.We should get an appointment first, and
(13:13):
then our appointments actually, because likeyou just said, we're in East LA.
What's the beautiful thing for us iswe can meet you where you're at,
so we can meet folks in thecommunity. We do a lot of
virtual online appointments now and so callget that appointment and we'll accommodate. So
some folks come into our office,some folks want to do a phone call,
some folks want to do a zoomcall. And I'm really proud that
(13:35):
we can now be more accessible.We used to require an in person intake
and I might have a client,you know, coming across town on multiple
buses, and we know LA trafficand getting around is not easy. So
don't let the location of our officebe a barrier. We can talk to
you on the phone. Got it, Got it? And you know we've
been seeing the website LACLJ dot orglac la j dot org for these free
(14:01):
lawyer services legal services. What isthat phone number just in case people want
to write down the phone number crimein Yes, the phone number is three
two three nine eight zero three fivezero zero three two three nine eight zero
three five zero zero, got it? Got it? And how many people
are you currently helping? Like,are we into the we're into the thousands,
(14:24):
one hundreds, thousands. Yeah,we got last year we helped over
one thousand survivors with legal services,and so about one thousand we're able to
help and we you know, hopeto continue to grow and you know we
could do that with help from hopefullyfolks that are listening. You know,
the more pro bono support we get, the more donors we get, Like
(14:46):
we just passed that through right tohelping our clients. Yeah, and how
you know, say, if we'renot a victim of domestic violence or sexual
assault or human trafficking, how asan empathetic person listening, how what can
we to help this process or besupportive of what y'all are doing? Oh,
wonderful question. You could follow uson social media LACLJ, We're on
(15:07):
all the social media sites and thenengage with us. So we have community
events where we try to interact withthe community. For example, we have
a Tee Up for Survivors event onAugust fifteenth, and we have that at
Top Golf. It's a great event. Folks can support, they can donate,
they can buy a bay, comewith your friends and spread awareness.
(15:28):
We talk about our work there.We also have a five k in March.
We have an annual gala in May. So we have lots of events
where we invite the community to comeand support and then you can always donate
online on our website to and there'sa link on the website that you've been
mentioning where folks can donate, andthen you can reach out to volunteer.
(15:48):
If you're a lawyer, you canreach out. We would love to get
probono support from you. But ifyou're a social worker, if you speak
another language that we have interpretation needs, we have all kinds of support.
You know, we have pro bonofolks who help us with our accounting manual.
I mean, we're a nonprofit,like we look for folks that can
help us with marketing, who canhelp us with communications, like getting the
word out is so critical, Sothere are lots of ways to get involved
(16:11):
and just reach out. There's anemail on the website info at LACLJA dot
org. Can shoot us an emailand that'll get filtered to the right person,
and we'd love to talk more abouthow to engage. That's great,
and again, Carmen McDonald is theexecutive director of the Los Angeles Center for
Law and Justice. Anything else youwant people to know before we wrap up
(16:32):
anything else? You want to makesure people know about all the great services
that you provide, you know,I would love to just add that domestic
violences everywhere. I see it inevery community. We see it. You
know, we talk about it doesn'tmatter your socioeconomic class, your background.
People reach out to me from allwalks of life. It exists. Reach
out, you know, don't reachout, support, help and believe people.
(16:56):
Just know that this is complicated.Folks don't talk about it. They
keep it it for years and years. They're ashamed, they're embarrassed. Just
be there for survivors when they whenthey need you, and you know,
reach out to our organization at thecenter and like we and and and help
and for sexual assault victims. Whatare you able to do? Yes,
So, when we can help sexualassault survivors with their sometimes they have an
(17:19):
issue with their employer. Sometimes theyhave an issue at their college or their
school that's not providing an accommodation.We can help folks with civil harassment restraining
orders if it's a non intimate partnersituation. Let's say it's you know,
a colleague or someone that you goto school with. And so our sexual
assault services are also available. Sexualassault happens a lot within a domestic violence
(17:45):
relationship, but it also happens outsideof those and so we do help any
survivors of sexual assault. We partnerwith the y w C A of Greater
Los Angeles, who has one oftheir great crisis hotlines, and so know
that we're also here for survivors ofsexual assault as well. Gosh, helping
so many people in need. Again, areas mainly focused on domestic violence,
(18:07):
sexual assault, in human trafficking,also family law and immigration. These people
are here for you, free,free, free, a nonprofit law firm
with a full staff of social workersand all these wonderful people who want to
help you navigate through the journey properlyand legally and to help kind of re
route your course and get you backon track or on a real track to
(18:29):
live a real life, a real, healthy, fruitful life. Here in
beautiful Sunday, southern California, youshould be smiling and being happy, and
Karen wants to help you get tothat place. So again, their phone
number is three two three nine eightzero thirty five hundred three two three nine
eight zero thirty five hundred, oryou can reach the Los Angeles Center for
Law Injustice at LACLJ dot org.Carmen, thank you so much for all
(18:52):
that you do there. Your wholeteam Thank you so much, Thank you
so much, Lisa, I appreciateit.
Hi is Lisa Fox, and thisis the iHeart So Cal Show, our
show that puts the spotlight on charitableorganizations, nonprofits and people giving back.
And for fifty years, the LosAngeles Center for Law and Justice has been
giving back by offering free legal servicesto those who are dealing with issues of
domestic violence, also sexual assault,family law, human trafficking, and more.
(00:23):
The Los Angeles Center for Law andJustice provides survivors with expert legal representation
and dedicated advocacy both inside and outsidethe courtroom. There's so much that they're
doing for people, we wanted todo a radio show about it and make
sure that you knew that this freelegal help was available. The website for
the Los Angeles Center for Law andJustice is LACLJ dot org. And on
(00:47):
to tell us all about what theydo is their executive director, Carmen McDonald.
Hi. Carmen, Hi, Lisa. Thank you so much for having
me. Of course, well,I've got so many questions, but just
thank you so much, first andforemost for helping so many people. Yes,
absolutely, our work, you knowis to secure justice for survivors of
domestic violence and sexual assault. Wealso work with human trafficking survivors, and
(01:11):
our goal is to empower them tocreate their own futures. You know,
where they really are making the decisionsabout their goals and motivations and what makes
them happy. And we're really hereto stand with survivors and support them along
their journey. So essentially, youknow, you guys are like a nonprofit
law firm, right with a fullstaff of people helping people in the courtroom,
with all this legal jargon, andall for free. That's right.
(01:36):
We are a nonprofit law firm,so that means we don't charge at all
for any of our services. They'refree. We're supported by different grants and
private donors. We provide free legalservices. We have about fifteen amazing lawyers.
Our services are around the areas offamily law where we secure restraining orders
and custody orders for survivors, andthen we also do humanitarian immgrisation petitions for
(02:00):
survivors because a lot of time theirimmigration status is used against them as a
way to control, exercise power andcontrol over survivors. And so we have
a staff of about forty two whocite for our clients every day in court
with their family law and immigration cases. But We also have an amazing model
(02:22):
where we have social workers on staffand they're integrated into the legal team.
And that's important because our clients oftendon't just have one issue going on in
their life or even one victimization.They have issues around homelessness or food insecurity,
or it could be a sexual assaultsurvivor and trafficking survivor, and so
we have sort of a multidisciplinary approachto trying to meet our clients needs,
(02:47):
meet our clients where they're at,and truly help them secure justice. So
again, you want to put theword out there that you are here to
help people dealing with domestic violence issues, restrict orders, family law that includes
custody issues, divorce issues, paterneyissues. Yes, so our primary practice
areas are family law and immigration,and the family law cases we help folks
(03:13):
obtain a restraining order, and therestraining order can also include things like custody
and visitation orders. And then wedo do the other types of family law
cases around divorce, a paternity wheresomeone apparent, paternity cases where they're not
legally married but they might still needchild support and custody orders. So we
provide whatever the services are our clientsneed, and if we don't have it
(03:35):
in house, we have a veryrobust pro bono panel where will pair folks
with private attorneys who donate their timeand services to help support our clients.
And our immigration attorneys help with ourhumanitarian based petitions. So in cases where
someone's a survivor of domestic silence ora crime or human trafficking, there's certain
immigration relief that we can help themapply for. Yeah, and see,
(03:57):
there's so much that people don't know. Like you said, we don't most
of us don't know how the lawworks, or what it's on our side
or not on our side, oreven just the legal terms, or what
things we can ask for or fightfor. I mean, we got Google,
you know, we're just googling stuffif you even know what to google.
And now thanks to you guys,the Los Angeles Center for Law and
Justice, you are in people's cornerand no charge in the core room.
(04:21):
And for over fifty years you've beendoing this. Yeah, that's right.
We have a strong legacy and fightingfor survivors and for justice. You know,
we started I understand we were partof like the Chief g Onal Rights
movement, you know, in theheart of East LA fighting against things like
police brutality for people of color.We were helping women who were being involuntarily
(04:42):
sterilized at Counting Hospital based on youknow, often being a person of color
or having a mental health issue.Like our roots are in advocacy and justice
and we're just really proud to beable to serve the community. When did
you get into this? How longhave you been with them? And when
did you decide that you wanted todo this as you're life's passion helping people.
Oh I love that question. Youknow. I've been with the center
(05:03):
for eleven years now. I startedas a supervising attorney of the family law
team, and I moved up throughthe rank. So if they say,
but I have been an attorney nowfor twenty years and this is all I've
ever done or wanted to do inlaw school, yeah, I considered I
wanted to do some kind of workfor the community. I was really passionate
(05:25):
about doing like criminal defense work,and I did an internship with the Public
Defender's Office and they ended up havinga hiring freeze. But I also worked
at a woman's shelter in law school, and that's where I really saw the
impact of getting that lawyer to helpstand with someone and support them and fight
for them. And then I endedup working at my first organization was also
(05:47):
a domestic violence organization called Break theCycle. And so my entire legal practice
has just been in legal services,and so I really appreciate doing this work,
like I know what my staff that'sgoing through, I know what the
team needs, I know what clientsneed. And going back further, my
parents are Cuban refugees and my entirelife, they talked to me about what
(06:12):
freedoms and rights mean. You know, they lost the freedom of speech,
the freedom to vote, the freedomto practice religion. So I understood that
we here have these rights that areso critical, and that's really what even
led me to go to law school. So it's just like who I am.
I just want to give you alittle little of this, my gosh,
(06:33):
inspiring us all already, and lookat you did something about it,
and now you have the power asa lawyer, and through the Los Angeles
Center for Law and Justice, youare helping so many and like you mentioned
domestic violence, my gosh, forpeople to even know that services like your
free services exist must be what aGod send because these people must be going
(06:54):
through, you know, through ahorrific time already. Then you know that
somebody is in their corner and hastheir back, is going to help them
get their lives back on track andlegally talk about that process. So god
forbid someone's in one of these situations. We know your website lac LJ dot
org. So it's Los Angeles Centerfor Law and Justice. Lac LJ dot
(07:15):
org is their website. First ofall, we're you know, we're doing
this radio interview so they can knowyou exist. And second of all,
so they can reach out to you. That way they tell you their story.
How does the process work? IfI need your services? What do
I do? Yeah, thank youfor asking that. I'm for this opportunity
because we really want everyone to knowwe are here for you. If you're
hearing this. If you know someonein that situation, have them reach out
(07:36):
through our website. There's an applylink online, ask a few questions and
it goes to our intake screeners.Folks can also call us our phone numbers
also on the website. And ifyou also need help, you know there's
a National Domestic Violence hotline that willlink you to legal services in your community.
(07:57):
We're here in La County, butwe it's call for help and get
linked in Los Angeles. You cancall two one one and you get linked
into the domestic violence hotline and they'llrefer you. But for us, as
you said, you can go onthe website and apply the processes. You'll
be asked you identify as a survivor. We don't need any proof for documentation.
If you've experienced this, we're herefor you. We do help low
(08:18):
income folks in the Los Angeles Countyarea, and where we can't help,
we make sure to do a warmreferral. We are partnered with over twenty
community organizations in Los Angeles, sothe rape Crisis Center, the domestic violence
crisis centers, the courthouse, othercommunity organizations, so we they will link
you to us, or we canlink folks to other services as needed.
(08:41):
Now for human trafficking, which isagain another horrible thing that's happening to anybody.
But how common is this and whatare you able to do to help
people coming out of these situations?Oh? And you know what we discovered
with human trafficking is it existed inour current population. When we started asking
a few different questions like whether someonehad ever withheld your identity documents or whether
(09:05):
you'd worked for someone and didn't receiveyour pay. So we were, as
much as it's sad, like thrilledto discover that, like if we just
screened a little better, a littlemore holistically, we were finding that our
clients did have these multiple issues andidentities and difficulties and victimizations. But the
resources out there are there. Ifyou're undocumented, there's a t visa,
(09:28):
a trafficking visa that you're eligible toapply for. There's also restitution if let's
say that you had wages withheld,we can help go after an employer.
And then there's a lot of otherissues with trafficking and domestic violence that can
be really scary, but we're partneredwith like CAST, the Coalition to Abolished
Slavery and Trafficking. We can helptry to link folks to shelters or to
(09:52):
other needs that they may have.And so it's really just important to like
reach out and talk to a lawyer. It's very, very very important to
talk to a lawyer that knows yourrights and that can explain. It's something
we really try to do, likegive that initial consultation where sometimes folks don't
even know that they've been trafficked,they don't know that what they're suffering is
abuse. I can't tell you howmany people say, well, I wasn't
(10:16):
abused, but I was not allowedto leave my house when I wanted to,
or oh, they just pulled myhair. Like there's a lot of
minimization that happens, and we canhelp talk about what is going on that
actually does qualify for legal remedies andagain offering your services for free commons with
the Los Angeles Center for Law andJustice. Their website with their phone number.
(10:39):
It's all right there, LACLJ dotorg, LACLJ dot org. You
cover things in terms of helping peoplewith domestic violence, sexual assault, human
trafficking. We touched on family law, helping people with custody, divorce,
and paternity issues. Immigration. Now, how does the immigration part work?
Is that for people with family membersor like who how do you know who
(11:01):
needs help and how does that partof it work for immigration issues? That's
a good question. It could befor the person who is a survivor,
but often there are qualifying family membersas well, So sometimes we might be
helping a mom and who has childrenwho are also undocumented. We've helped reunite
parents with children who live maybe inanother country still, so it will be
(11:24):
primarily the person who has been victimized, but then there might be qualifying family
members, which also makes it criticalto talk to a lawyer who understands.
We also do a lot of workaround unaccompanied minors. So maybe a child
has ended up in the US bythemselves and has been abused or abandoned or
neglected. So what's most important isto make that phone call so that we
(11:45):
can screen. We do a reallycomprehensive assessment that will ask all these questions
like how did you get here,who are you related to, what status
that your family members have, Likewe will scream because the immigration system is
super complicated, but that's why wehave this amazing team of lawyers who this
is all they do. Like theyare experts in the field of domestic violence,
(12:07):
social thought, and human trafficking andwhat the laws provide. And your
thing is like, hey, trustus, We're here to help you.
Just trust us. Tell us thereal story, tell us the truth,
and we will help you no matterhow crazy it all gets. We're going
to help you sort through this andfigure out your future so you can you
know you're here. Let's make ita blessed life as best we can.
Right, Absolutely, yes, andthat's the beauty of talking to an attorney.
(12:31):
What you talk about is confidential,and why our social work model is
integrated into our legal team is becausewe do not ever tell what you tell
us, so it is free,it is confidential, and we will give
you that real advice based on yourfacts. So don't just listen to like
what your friends said happen to them, because every case is very different under
(12:52):
the law, and that's why youwant to absolutely have that call with the
lawyer. And sometimes our advice islike, don't do any thing, but
we don't know until we know aboutyour story. And then when they come
to your office on WHITTERR Boulevard isEast LA. You said you guys are
in East LA. Yes, ouroffice is an East LA. Yeah,
because we deal with domestic violence.We should get an appointment first, and
(13:13):
then our appointments actually, because likeyou just said, we're in East LA.
What's the beautiful thing for us iswe can meet you where you're at,
so we can meet folks in thecommunity. We do a lot of
virtual online appointments now and so callget that appointment and we'll accommodate. So
some folks come into our office,some folks want to do a phone call,
some folks want to do a zoomcall. And I'm really proud that
(13:35):
we can now be more accessible.We used to require an in person intake
and I might have a client,you know, coming across town on multiple
buses, and we know LA trafficand getting around is not easy. So
don't let the location of our officebe a barrier. We can talk to
you on the phone. Got it, Got it? And you know we've
been seeing the website LACLJ dot orglac la j dot org for these free
(14:01):
lawyer services legal services. What isthat phone number just in case people want
to write down the phone number crimein Yes, the phone number is three
two three nine eight zero three fivezero zero three two three nine eight zero
three five zero zero, got it? Got it? And how many people
are you currently helping? Like,are we into the we're into the thousands,
(14:24):
one hundreds, thousands. Yeah,we got last year we helped over
one thousand survivors with legal services,and so about one thousand we're able to
help and we you know, hopeto continue to grow and you know we
could do that with help from hopefullyfolks that are listening. You know,
the more pro bono support we get, the more donors we get, Like
(14:46):
we just passed that through right tohelping our clients. Yeah, and how
you know, say, if we'renot a victim of domestic violence or sexual
assault or human trafficking, how asan empathetic person listening, how what can
we to help this process or besupportive of what y'all are doing? Oh,
wonderful question. You could follow uson social media LACLJ, We're on
(15:07):
all the social media sites and thenengage with us. So we have community
events where we try to interact withthe community. For example, we have
a Tee Up for Survivors event onAugust fifteenth, and we have that at
Top Golf. It's a great event. Folks can support, they can donate,
they can buy a bay, comewith your friends and spread awareness.
(15:28):
We talk about our work there.We also have a five k in March.
We have an annual gala in May. So we have lots of events
where we invite the community to comeand support and then you can always donate
online on our website to and there'sa link on the website that you've been
mentioning where folks can donate, andthen you can reach out to volunteer.
(15:48):
If you're a lawyer, you canreach out. We would love to get
probono support from you. But ifyou're a social worker, if you speak
another language that we have interpretation needs, we have all kinds of support.
You know, we have pro bonofolks who help us with our accounting manual.
I mean, we're a nonprofit,like we look for folks that can
help us with marketing, who canhelp us with communications, like getting the
word out is so critical, Sothere are lots of ways to get involved
(16:11):
and just reach out. There's anemail on the website info at LACLJA dot
org. Can shoot us an emailand that'll get filtered to the right person,
and we'd love to talk more abouthow to engage. That's great,
and again, Carmen McDonald is theexecutive director of the Los Angeles Center for
Law and Justice. Anything else youwant people to know before we wrap up
(16:32):
anything else? You want to makesure people know about all the great services
that you provide, you know,I would love to just add that domestic
violences everywhere. I see it inevery community. We see it. You
know, we talk about it doesn'tmatter your socioeconomic class, your background.
People reach out to me from allwalks of life. It exists. Reach
out, you know, don't reachout, support, help and believe people.
(16:56):
Just know that this is complicated.Folks don't talk about it. They
keep it it for years and years. They're ashamed, they're embarrassed. Just
be there for survivors when they whenthey need you, and you know,
reach out to our organization at thecenter and like we and and and help
and for sexual assault victims. Whatare you able to do? Yes,
So, when we can help sexualassault survivors with their sometimes they have an
(17:19):
issue with their employer. Sometimes theyhave an issue at their college or their
school that's not providing an accommodation.We can help folks with civil harassment restraining
orders if it's a non intimate partnersituation. Let's say it's you know,
a colleague or someone that you goto school with. And so our sexual
assault services are also available. Sexualassault happens a lot within a domestic violence
(17:45):
relationship, but it also happens outsideof those and so we do help any
survivors of sexual assault. We partnerwith the y w C A of Greater
Los Angeles, who has one oftheir great crisis hotlines, and so know
that we're also here for survivors ofsexual assault as well. Gosh, helping
so many people in need. Again, areas mainly focused on domestic violence,
(18:07):
sexual assault, in human trafficking,also family law and immigration. These people
are here for you, free,free, free, a nonprofit law firm
with a full staff of social workersand all these wonderful people who want to
help you navigate through the journey properlyand legally and to help kind of re
route your course and get you backon track or on a real track to
(18:29):
live a real life, a real, healthy, fruitful life. Here in
beautiful Sunday, southern California, youshould be smiling and being happy, and
Karen wants to help you get tothat place. So again, their phone
number is three two three nine eightzero thirty five hundred three two three nine
eight zero thirty five hundred, oryou can reach the Los Angeles Center for
Law Injustice at LACLJ dot org.Carmen, thank you so much for all
(18:52):
that you do there. Your wholeteam Thank you so much, Thank you
so much, Lisa, I appreciateit.
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