CARECEN Legal Defense Fund

The ongoing economic crisis has had a huge impact on nonprofits like CARECEN and the community we serve. The legal program has been hit very hard with a significant loss of funds from private foundations and federal grants. Immigrant communities are facing an increasingly hostile environment in which local police act as immigration agents, deportations are on the rise and families are being torn apart. For over 30 years CARECEN has been addressing the legal needs of Latinos in the area, protecting the rights of the most vulnerable immigrants, facilitating their transition to the United States, and providing them with resources and tools to become thriving and engaged community members. We need your help to continue providing essential low and no-cost bilingual legal services to Latinos in the Washington metropolitan area. Your support will help CARECEN: Provide desperately needed legal assistance to domestic violence victims seeking U Visas, working parents trying to petition for their underage children, and single mothers fighting deportation in order to raise their U.S. citizen children. Reduce or waive fees for clients living below the poverty line, making them eligible to receive support that they otherwise couldnt afford. Assist newly eligible undocumented youth to obtain work permits and deferral of deportation proceedings, clearing the way for them to remain in the country and work without fear of being deported.

To donate please visit our website at www.carecendc.org or send your check or money order to CARECEN-Legal Defense Fund, 1460 Columbia Road, NW Suite C-1 Washington, DC 20009

CARECEN 1460 Columbia Road, NW Suite C-1 Washington, DC 20009 Phone: 202-328-9799 Fax: 202-328-7894 www.carecendc.org

Strengthening the Latino Community in the Washington, D.C. Area

Since 1981, the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) has fostered the compreMain Inside Heading hensive development of the Latino population in the Washington metropolitan region by providing direct legal services, housing counseling, citizenship education, and community economic development, while promoting grassroots empowerment, civic education, and civil rights advocacy.
CARECEN was originally founded to protect the rights of refugees from conflict in Central America and provide direct legal services that would ease their transition to their new life in the United States. Over time the organization has evolved and grown with the population into broader areas of community service and economic development, establishing itself as a strong advocate on critical policy issues related to immigration, housing, and civil rights. CARECENs programs are available to low and moderate income Latinos in the Washington metropolitan area. In addition to serving approximately 5,000 Latinos directly each year, CARECEN also reaches a large segment of the Latino population in the greater Washington area through outreach and education efforts.

Immigration Legal Services

CARECENs legal department helps community members navigate the at-times confusing and intimidating immigration process. The program seeks to facilitate Latino immigrants transition to the United States, reunite families, secure work authorization and economic security, and seek legal relief and justice for victims of crimes and abuse. Specifically, the low- or no-cost services provided include assistance with naturalization, family visa petitions, consular processing, obtaining and maintaining Temporary Protected Status, deportation defense, asylum applications, and filing for U Visas. In addition to direct services, CARECENs legal department educates community members through Know Your Rights forums on topics including immigration, civil rights, and notario fraud. Hours of consultation: Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00am-11:00am. Tuesdays from 1:00-3:00pm

Housing Counseling Program

The Housing Counseling Program seeks to secure safe and affordable housing for Latinos in the Washington metropolitan area. CARECEN offers individual counseling and educational workshops on topics such as foreclosure prevention, credit and financial management, and tenant rights, as well as technical assistance to tenant groups and associations. Through these programs, CARECEN informs tenants and homeowners of their rights and equips community members with the financial literacy tools to make well-informed decisions, particularly in relation to their housing needs.

Community Support Services Program

The Community Support Services Program helps clients overcome and prevent common problems such as unemployment, lack of access to health care, tax debts, and workplace abuse. CARECEN facilitates access to vital services such as low-cost health care clinics, job training programs, free tax preparation and a wide range of other resources. Through this program, CARECEN operates a low-income taxpayer clinic that aims to increase the number of Latino immigrants who understand and comply with their obligations under the U.S. tax code and who are educated consumers of tax preparation services. As part of a new initiative in partnership with the D.C. Superior Court, CARECEN offers bilingual dispute resolution services on-site once a month to individuals with employment, consumer, tenant, and other issues.

Citizenship and Civic Participation

The Citizenship and Civic Participation Program accompanies citizenship candidates through the entire naturalization process and beyond. CARECEN assists those eligible for naturalization in filing their applications and prepares candidates to take the U.S. naturalization examination by offering civics and civicsfocused ESL classes, individual tutoring, and mock citizenship interviews. The program also promotes community participation in local civic and democratic action through organizing, advocacy and training for community members, targeted media efforts to increase citizen education, election and voting forums, and voter registration campaigns. Quarterly Citizenship courses are offered in January, April, July and September.

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