Rebeca is a Spanish-speaking community member that first came to Beyond in March 2021 as a referral through community partner, Mano a Mano Family Resource Center. At that time, she worried her legal team would not be able to communicate with her.
Thankfully, the Beyond staff member who completed her intake at Mano spoke Spanish. This instantly made Rebeca comfortable and put her worries at ease. Once Beyond took on her case, she was paired with Beyond attorney, Sarah Cockrum. While Sarah does not speak Spanish, the community partner - Mano a Mano - was aware of this and offered interpretation services.
When she first came to Beyond, Rebeca was only looking to apply for her work permit, but later on, she learned about the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) program through Mano a Mano and wanted to apply for her children. SIJS is a program that allows undocumented immigrant children under the age of 21 to obtain legal status in the United States and apply for a green card. Mano a Mano conducted the new intake in summer 2021 and then directed Beyond’s attorneys to begin working on the case.
This pooling of resources and skills is a key element of Beyond’s model: through our community partnerships, we are able to provide holistic and culturally-informed support for community members at the direction of community partners.
When asked what her priorities were for the case, Rebeca said, “keeping my kids safe and giving them a better future.” This is something all parents can relate to.
Since coming to Beyond almost 4 years ago, Rebeca has received her work permit and is now able to work and provide for her family. Additionally, her children were approved for SIJS in summer 2023 and they are now waiting for their green cards. Ultimately, Beyond and Mano a Mano were able to deliver resounding success while meeting Rebeca’s goals.
Reflecting on her work with Beyond, Rebeca shared: :
“I feel very glad to have these opportunities now. All this help has been really great. Everyone has been helpful. This is a very good organization. I’m very grateful for Beyond Legal Aid. I would recommend them to anyone because they really care about people’s interests.”
Rebeca’s story is very common, but her outcome is often not for many others across Chicago and the nation. Through our ongoing work with our community partners, we will continue to deliver these life-changing outcomes for those that need them most.
To our readers: we need your support now more than ever; we would humbly ask for you to consider making a donation if you are able, especially at this critical moment in our national history.
Your support will allow us to continue advocating with families like Rebeca and her children while securing their fundamental rights and the hope for a better, more inclusive tomorrow.