A Year in Review - 2017
We’re back with another segment of our 10-year campaign! This month, we highlight 2017, a significant year in Beyond’s history because it’s when we launched our partnership with Vietnamese Association of Illinois (VAI) – Beyond’s first endeavor to build power and strengthen the capacity of a community-based legal aid organization. We would be honored to have your support for our 10-year anniversary campaign to help us celebrate such an incredible milestone!
Given the new administration’s stance on immigration, we knew we had to get creative with our programming to have the greatest impact. That led us to look at this new partnership with VAI through a staff empowerment lense, to provide the community partner with the knowledge to increase its immigration reach. Here’s what VAI Immigration & Community Service Manager, Jessica Arellano, had to say about it: “[Beyond has] supported our team during the process of applying for DOJ accreditation. In turn, this enables our organization to increase our capacity to assist the community.” The launch of this clinic was significant because there was an undeniable need for immigration services in this area, making it our biggest and most active clinic at the time of the launch. Arellano stated, “the clinic and collaboration with [Beyond] has helped us build and strengthen our immigration team by providing education and guidance on immigration cases.”
A group of community members at one of the first VAI workshops.
Our partnership with VAI launched at a very critical time because of the effects that the Muslim bans had on the community. Approximately 50% of the clinic visitors were from countries such as Iraq, Syria, and Iran. Many cases we handled in 2017 resulted from these bans, including a case for an elderly couple, Nada and Sobhe. They faced a difficult decision: to travel back to Turkey to see their family and risk their status in the US or perhaps never see their family again. Fortunately, with the help of the clinic, they never had to make that decision. A Beyond attorney assisted them to obtain the necessary travel authorization to protect their status.
VAI community members, Nada and Sobhe.
Keep an eye out for 2018’s highlight, another monumental year in Beyond’s history, coming next month! Be sure to also compare each month’s “Year in Review” graphic (below) to see how much we’ve grown over the years.
We could not have had 10 years of success without supporters like you, please make a contribution to and spread the word about the campaign.
